


Journey to Redemption

by sumerdazzee



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24129028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumerdazzee/pseuds/sumerdazzee
Summary: Jason dies at the hands of Caligula to save Meg, Apollo and Piper. He is surprised to wake up in Olympus by his father’s side. Jupiter returns all of Jason’s memories as a way to thank him for saving the world then he is given a choice to live peacefully in Elysium or to return to the world back to Camp Jupiter. Reyna is distraught to have found out that Jason died.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace & Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. Olympus

**Author's Note:**

> Recently, I read the HOO book and I have to say that for some reason I ship Jason and Reyna together. I just feel like both characters have so much potential and they feel as though the Roman version of Annabeth and Percy. They could have been a great power couple.

All he could see was darkness, he was motionless and he couldn’t feel a thing. What was I doing? Where am I? Those were the thoughts that plagued his mind. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, he covers his eyes in an attempt to shield them and it comes back to Jason’s senses that he died. Right, I died to save Apollo, Meg and Piper, then I was killed by Caligula. I hope they made it out alive and I hope they are in a better situation now. Jason hears a voice calling out to him and opens his eyes. He finds himself in a palace exquisitely made of marble and gold. While squinting and looking for the sound of the voice calling out to him, he finds his father “Jupiter” standing in front of him then he immediately straightens himself out. 

“Jason, my son, how have you been?”

“I never thought we’d be reuniting this way, Father.”

“Well, it seems as though this is what the fates intended to happen Jason. No hero has it easy son.”

“I went through a lot, I got swapped with Percy whose a son of Poseidon from the Greek camp. Then my memories were wiped blank by Hera. Then, I struggled with remembering my past life and ultimately it just confused me, Father. I could only recall a few fragments of my past life in the Roman camp and I felt so awful that I couldn’t remember much from my life in Camp Jupiter which is what led me to Camp Half-Blood. While there I was happy for a bit but everything came crashing down when I realized that most of the memories I had of my present life was all fabricated.”

“Well, Hera told me that erasing your memories was necessary for both camps to unite. You were too uptight before you met the Greeks, son. You would have never agreed to join forces with them if the switch between you and Percy didn’t happen.”

“You’re correct, Father, but I just wish I recovered my memories like Percy did.”

“Percy was only able to retrieve his memories while on a quest when he came across a gorgon’s blood.”

“I understand but even before that, he was able to remember at least Annabeth from his own camp. Her name was the first thing he remembered when he woke up.”

“It is because Hera intended for that to happen Percy although he is a great leader is driven by his impulse. Hera needed him to be fueled enough to effectively make use of Percy in her plans. Annabeth is what drives Percy the most and the thought of her manages to keep him grounded.” 

“What about me? Didn’t I have someone who kept me grounded?”

Jupiter looks uncomfortable and grimaces at Jason. 

“You did, son but you needed to forget about her. She wasn’t essential in Hera’s plan and Hera needed you to be with someone Greek so that it would strengthen the ties between the two camps therefore forming an alliance.”

Jason frowns at Jupiter with a troubled expression. He remembers only fragments of a girl with black hair in a side braid. 

“Oh Gods, her? her? It was Reyna wasn’t it?”

Zeus looks at his son guiltily. Then a thought flashes into Jason’s mind, he remembers Reyna’s hurt expression when she saw him holding hands with Piper when he went down from Argo II. 

“Yes, Jason, it is Reyna that daughter of Bellona. You guys were bestfriends and really close at that.”

“Oh Gods, were we together? was she my girlfriend before I got taken away?”

“Uhm, well, I think the two of you were at a point in your relationship wherein you guys were past the friendzone but wouldn’t put a label on it because both of you prioritized your duties as praetors of Rome.”

Jason felt sick to his stomach. He couldn’t believe he forgot a big chunk of his life. Regardless if they were already together or not, he felt that the predicament went the worst for Reyna and all because they needed to save the world. 

“This is tough news to take and its even worse that I’m dead already.”

“Well, son, that is the life of a hero. Sacrifices must be made and because of your sacrifices this brings me to my next two orders that I must discuss with you.”

Jason although troubled looks expectantly at his Father and grows curious regarding his current predicament. 

“What is this about Father? Also why am I here in Roman Olympus? Shouldn’t I be in Elysium?”

“That my boy, is the first order that I must be discuss. As your Father, of course I felt bad about everything that happened to you and that is why I am giving you your memories back.”

With a stroke of his hand Zeus summoned lightning and shot it at Jason. Jason felt shocked by the lightning but nothing hurt instead he relived all of his memories and in the process gained all of it back. Memories of his time in Camp Jupiter with Dakota, Gwen, Bobby and even Octavian, flashes before his eyes. Then, important parts of his memories came last, memories of his time with Reyna, from the very first time they met to the very last night he spent with her before he got taken away by Hera. He was plunged into a memory and forced to relive his last night with Reyna.

The memory sequence starts and it feels like a faraway dream.

It was already night time in Camp Jupiter and Jason found himself watching his past self and Reyna on the roof of praetor’s villa stargazing. They were sitting next to each other just admiring the night sky.

“How many stars do you think there are in the universe, Jay?”

“Definitely, too many to count, Rey.”

“I wish I were a star, all I would need to do is to look pretty at night and shine.”

“You already shine on your own, Rey. Plus if you were a star, how would I be able to do this with you?”

Jason pulled her close and kissed Reyna, although surprised Reyna smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“My, my, Grace. You really are smooth, lover boy.”

“Ha ha, very funny Rey but I only am with you?”

“Promise?”

“I promise plus with all the praetor duties I doubt, I’d spend time with anybody else.”

“I’m glad you became my co-praetor, Jay. I won’t know what to do without you, this job isn’t cut out for one person, you know.”

“I know and that is why, you can always count on me. I promise I won’t leave you and I’ll help you with every task we’d need to accomplish.”

“I’ll hold you to that promise. Pinky swear?”

“I’ll only pinky swear, if you promise to take a break tomorrow and swim with me in the lake?” 

Reyna pretends to think about it for a bit and then flicks Jason in the chest. Jason feigns hurt and smiles at her.

“Fine, I will but only if you bring a pack of jelly beans.”

“Oh, I will. Don’t worry.”

Jason grabs one of Reyna’s hands and holds it. Reyna squeezes his hand back and lets it stay there. They continue small talk about their plans for tomorrow while stargazing. 

That was the night before he was taken away and wiped clean off his memories. The memory cuts and Jason is brought back to the present. He’s in Olympus and Jupiter is snapping his fingers in front of his face. Jason feels happy that he finally got his memories back but the feeling is replaced with regret and guilt. He looks back at every instance Reyna saw him with Piper and it only makes him feel 10 times worse. 

“How do you feel, son? It must be nice to have a clearer grasp of things.”

“I feel better now that I remember everything but I feel like a truck hit me in the chest, Father. Every single instance I wasn’t there for Reyna comes back to me and I feel even worse that I broke a lot of promises that I made her.”

“All is fair in love and war, son. You have to come to terms with everything. You wouldn’t have saved the world if you didn’t forget about her.”

“But it brought me pain, Father. There was always this missing piece in my head that desperately wanted to claw its way out, that told me that being with Piper was wrong but the memories I had fabricated by the mist was strong and then there was also Piper’s charmspeaking distracting me from remembering anything else.”

“As I said before, son. All of that was necessary to save the world and it is one of the greatest sacrifices you are ever to make.”

“I just wish there was another way, I could have saved the world.”

“There is no other way, son. What’s done is done and you are now a hero. Which brings me to my second order of business as to why you are here?”

Jason curiously looks at Jupiter who was smirking at him.

“What else is there, Father? I am already dead, aren’t I?”

“You have done your best and sacrificed so much already for the world, son. I don’t usually do this but you are among my favorite children and with that in mind, I am giving you a choice.”

“What choice is there?”

“I am asking you if you want to go to Elysium or be resurrected and returned to Camp Jupiter? Now that you have your memories back, you can live peacefully in Elysium and relax or would you like to be brought back into the world to fix the bridges you’ve burned before and rebuild it?”

“What? Why are you doing this, Father?”

“I may not be the best Father, Jason but I really do love my children and I hated how tragically your life ended after all the sacrifices you made for the Gods.”

“Is this even possible, Father? How long have I been gone in the world?”

“Of course, its possible Jason. Nothing is impossible for a God like me. And, you have been gone for about three days. I believe your remains have been brought back to Camp Jupiter by Apollo and Meg although they were attacked by Eurynomos on the way.”

Jason looks alarmed but Jupiter goes on with what he was saying.

“Don’t look at me like that. They’re fine and they managed to get your body back to Camp Jupiter with the assistance of Lavinia.” 

“Oh, thank the Gods. How many people know about my death, Father?”

“Mhmm, the people from Camp Jupiter and the seven demigods you had a quest with. Oh, plus Nico, Meg and Apollo.”

“Oh no, does Reyna know?”

“I think she does, son. And I’ve heard that she plans on joining the Hunters of Artemis.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, since you’ve been gone from Camp Jupiter, your sister Thalia and Reyna got close. Initially, they bonded over you as the topic of their conversations and eventually realized that there are other things that they have a lot in common.”

“Oh, leave it to Thalia to ruin my lovelife. If Reyna joins the Hunters of Artemis then we’ll never be able to be together.”

“That is actually one of the main reasons why I had to do this for you, son. I actually like Reyna for you, she made you a better man. You got so responsible and made smarter decisions when you guys were together. I really think she would be a good match for you even though Aphrodite did not think so.”

“Oh Gods, is that what Aphrodite told Reyna when we were in Charleston. Reyna distanced herself from me for a few days after speaking with Aphrodite but we bounced back when I confronted her about it.”

“That’s right. Aphrodite wanted to pair you up with one of her spawns. She said you guys would make the perfect match but I doubt that was the kind of girl you needed. What you need is someone who isn’t afraid to knock you down off your high horse, son. The same formula worked perfectly well for Percy and Annabeth.”

“I know, Father. I think I’ve made my choice.”

“I think I already know, what choice you’d be making, son. But do remember hardships and trials, will come along if you choose this path.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, it was already hard enough getting close to her, imagine trying to gain her forgiveness to take me back.”

“Well, we’ve always had trouble with women, son. But for this girl I’ll make an exception, she is someone that I really like for you.”

“I know dad and I really do love her. Take me back into the world. That is my choice.”

“As you wish son, goodluck and don’t forget to grovel at her feet. That always helps me whenever Im in trouble with Juno.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Father.”

Jupiter smiles and flicks lightning at Jason then he disappears. Jupiter thinks to himself “Let’s hope things look up for you, son. I’d hate to find you in the Underworld again.” Jupiter gives it a thought and mumbles to himself while walking “I should finally give Hera and Aphrodite a piece of my mind, they may be Greek gods but they’ve meddled enough with my son’s life.”


	2. Dead

Reyna has always lived a tough life. From the start of her childhood when she unintentionally vaporized her dad because when he came back from the war in Iraq, he wasn’t the same and he was starting to get violent around her and Hylla. To those dreadful days that she spent in Circe’s Island and the pirates there.

At a young age, she was forced to learn how to fight and defend herself because she was always plunged into risky situations. Escaping Circe’s Island with Hylla only gave her momentary joy because after a few days, Hylla went her separate way and joined the Amazons leaving Reyna all alone again. Reyna eventually found sanctuary in Camp Jupiter and that’s where everything changed for her. She had always conditioned herself to expect the worse because her life has always been a tragic story. This made her emotionally detached and despondent, making it a habit to rely solely on herself and that would have been the case if it weren’t for a blond haired son of Jupiter.

Initially, Reyna wanted nothing to do with Jason but he always managed to find time to worm his way into her life. She always thought that Jason was too sweet, kind and honorable. Everyone in Camp Jupiter liked him because he was charismatic and he always had that hero streak about him where in he would try to help anyone that needed it. He was too perfect and Reyna hated that fact, she thought that no one could be this perfect. Which is why she tried avoiding him at all costs but the fates had other plans for her.

Time and time again, she tried to push Jason away but he always managed to bounce right back in next to her. Their relationship that was initially rocky turned into a close bond when they were both working hard to become praetors of the camp. Months of spending time with one another around camp and training, kept them close to one another. This was how Reyna got to know the real Jason, not the perfect golden boy that everyone thought he was on the outside but the Jason that was plagued by doubts and criticized himself for making errors. The Jason that was loyal, compassionate and had an immense sense of justice. This Jason was the one she slowly fell in love with.

He would always know when something was wrong with her and she in turn would know when something was wrong with him. They knew each other like the back of their hands. That was what made them the golden duo during their time as preators. When they were elected as praetors, the bond between them only grew stronger and it slowly burned into something else. Conversations about their duties in camp turned into conversations of their plans for the future. Looking for each other so that they could attend a senate meeting turned into looking for each other so that they could sneak out of camp and watch the latest action movie.

They were bestfriends yet something more and they come to terms with this one night when they were walking back to their praetor villas after sneaking out to watch a movie. Reyna remembers it just like it was a moment yesterday.

-The night Jason confessed to Reyna-

Jason and Reyna finally reached Camp Jupiter after sneaking out to watch a movie in the town nearby. They walk along the path that would take them towards their villas which were situated next to one another. Jason looks at Reyna who was busy admiring the night sky.

“Hey, Rey, how long do you think we’ll be doing this?

Reyna smiles at him and laughs. Jason smiles to himself because he knows that laugh was reserved only for a selected few namely: Dakota, Gwen, Bobby and him.

“Doing what, Jay? Sneaking out of camp? Being a praetor? Staying in camp?”

“Okay fine, maybe I wasn’t clear about what I asked. What I meant was staying here in camp.”

“Oh. I haven’t really thought of that yet. But, I would want to go to college so that I may be able to study law.”

“Ooh, I bet you’d make a great lawyer, Rey. Fighting for what is right and serving justice to those who need it.”

“Haha. Exactly my thoughts on it. You got me there. What about you?”

“Well, I think I also want to go to college now that you’ve mentioned it but I’d want to study Business.”

“You’ve always been a great leader, Jay. That would be perfect for you. Maybe, you’d turn into a CEO or a politician.”

“I was thinking along those lines. Haha, you got me as well.”

“Of course, I know you best Grace. Who else would?”

“You got that right, Queenie.”

They are infront of their villas when Jason halts his steps and looks like he’s contemplating on something. Reyna looks at him questioningly.

“Come on, Jay, just a few more steps till we can sleep like babies in our beds.”

Jason is having an internal battle with himself before he decides that the time is right.

“I know but I have to tell you something before we sleep for the day.”

Reyna turns to him and patiently waits for him to speak his mind. She noticed earlier that something was bothering him when his hand was fidgeting while they were walking home.

“Lay it on me, Jay-Jay. I’m sure I can take it.”

“Mhmm, well, I know we didn’t have the best start ...”

“Come on, Jay. We’ve pushed past that already, you know about my father, you know about Circe and you know about my sister.”

“I know, I know and you know everything there is about me as well.”

“Then what else are you trying to say, superman.”

Jason smiles when he hears the nickname that she teased him with when they found out he could shoot lightning and fly.

“Mhmm superman huh. How much do you know about superman?”

Reyna laughs thinking that this conversation is going nowhere but goes along with it.

“Well he has powers and some of his powers you can do you know. Where are you going with this, Jay?”

“You’re right, Rey. You know what else superman has?”

“Haha. What?”

“A Lois Lane.”

“That’s basic superman info, Jay. Lois Lane is deadlier that Kryptonite for superman. And I’m gonna ask you again, where are you going with this? This is getting ridiculous and the movie we just watched was about Batman so they don’t add up.”

Jason turns his full attention to Reyna with a serious face. Reyna gets a bit nervous and tries to laugh it off.

“Im just saying that if I were superman, you would be my Lois Lane.”

“I don’t want to be the reason you go berserk and wreck the world, Jay. Haha.”

“Rey, I’m being serious here. I’m in love with you and I probably wouldn’t wreck the world for you like superman because I don’t want the Gods mad at me but I would definitely do anything to protect you.”

Reyna looks dumbfounded and tries pinching herself. Jason finds this funny and looks at her incredulously.

“Stop pinching yourself. Why are you doing that, Rey.”

“I was just making sure I was awake. This is a lot to take in, Jay.”

“Well, maybe you can start off by telling me if you feel the same way.”

“I do, I think I’m in love with you too ..”

Jason pumps his fist in the air before kissing her. Reyna is shocked but she kisses him back. Although at this moment, Reyna remembers all their duties in the camp as praetors and pulls away.

“But ...”

“But, what Rey?”

“I think we shouldn’t focus on there being an us right now.”

“What? Why?”

“What about our duties, Jay? We’re praetors of the camp and we have responsibilities. I don’t want there being an us to affect that.”

“It won’t Rey. It’s kind of inevitable for co-praetors to date around here.”

“I know but I just want us to be the best praetors that we can be.”

“And we will, Rey. We can do this. It’s always been me and you against the world.”

“I’m just not sure about it, Jay. What if we break up then we start hating each other? How can we work together as praetors then?”

“We won’t. We haven’t even started and you’re already thinking about that. I’m sure we’ll be just fine.”

“It just makes me nervous, Jay.”

Reyna looks at Jason and he appears to be thinking before he speaks.

“Fine. How about this, Rey? Will you listen to my proposition?”

Reyna is hesitant but nods at him.

“We don’t have to put a label on us. I know it makes you anxious and I wouldn’t want to make you feel uneasy about it. Basically we’ll still be us but we’d be an upgraded version of us.”

Reyna snorts and laughs.

“Haha. What? What do you mean?”

“We’ll still act the same as before but I’m asking for your permission to be able to hold your hand, take you out on dates and to kiss you. Then, we’ll figure everything out when we’re done being praetors. Maybe even go to college together. What do you say?”

“What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“I don’t know about you but I think I deserve a kiss for this.”

“Fine. I’ll be your not-girlfriend, till we figure things out.

Jason wraps his arms around Reyna’s waist and looks into her eyes.

“Excellent, then I’ll gladly be your not-boyfriend. I think you should show your not-boyfriend how grateful you are for him.”

“Maybe, I will.”

Reyna smiles at Jason and pulls him into a kiss. They smile like idiots in front of their villas, completely wrapped in a world of their own.

Damn. That memory hurt like hell and I really wish I lost my memories like him, then I won’t have to remember any of our moments together. 

Reyna finds herself back in her villa and is shaken back into the present by Gwen’s voice calling out to her. Reyna looks at a tear strained Gwen, Dakota and Bobby.

“What’s wrong guys?”

“Rey, I think you should sit down for this one?”

“What happened?”

“I really think you should sit down first, Rey.”

“What’s this about? What aren’t you telling me guys?”

“Reyna, Jason is dead.”

“What? That can’t be true? I know he hurt us because he forgot about us but this isn’t a funny prank, guys.”

“Reyna, we’re being serious. Jason is dead. He died to save Meg, Apollo and Piper from the hands of Caligula.”

Reyna stumbles and looks like she’s about to faint while mumbling “No. No. No. No”. Although pained with the recent news, Dakota, Bobby and Gwen carefully watch over Reyna because they knew this would hit her the most. Reyna looked dizzy and then she faints. Thankfully, Bobby has fast reflexes and manages to catch her before her head hit the floor. They lay her down on her couch before a voice interrupts them. 

“Oh God. You guys told her already, huh?”

The trio looks to the villa’s front door and finds a tear strained Thalia Grace. After the war, Reyna had a hard time coping with the loss but she managed to gain new friends in the form of Thalia and Annabeth. They were very patient with Reyna and listened to all of her Jason related rants, soon the topics shifted and they found that the three had a lot in common. Thalia knew Reyna wasn’t going to take the news of Jason passing well. This news wasn’t something that she would be able to get over and to avoid Reyna from destroying herself she decided, to offer her a spot with the Hunters of Artemis. Thalia also knew Reyna’s sister, Hylla, the Amazon Queen and she advised Thalia to encourage Reyna to join so that she won’t wallow in her sorrows alone. Everyone was concerned about Reyna because although Jason and Reyna were estranged, they all knew he still held a special place in her heart.

Reyna was slowly waking up from her fainting. She looks confusedly at everyone in her villa and then she remembers the recent news she received. Thalia approaches her and hugs her tightly with tears in her eyes. Reyna breaks down and cries before pulling away to compose herself.

“I wish the reason we had to meet up again so soon, wasn’t due to this?”

“It just feels like it isn’t real. I was mad at him for forgetting about everything and leaving the camp but regardless I hoped he would have had a long and happy life with Piper.”

“They broke up, Rey. It’s already been 6 months since they’ve split, I believe he was trying to find himself.”

“I didn’t know that. I didn’t even try to get in between them because I wanted him to be happy even if it meant being out of his life.”

“Well, some things just don’t turn out how we thought it would be.”

“I don’t know what to feel, what to do, I just feel numb.”

“We know, Rey. Everyone wants to keep their eye on you, Annabeth and the others are on their way. We’ll hold a proper funeral for him.”

“I don’t think I can do that, Thals.”

“Of course you can, you’re one of the strongest people I know, Rey.”

“I don’t know how to come back from this, Thals. I don’t know.”

“I know and this might not be the right time but I wanted to offer you a chance to join me. Be part of Artemis’ hunters. You won’t have to be alone.”

“I, I don’t know Thals. I hope you can give me time to think about it.”

“Of course, take all the time you need. Do you want to see him?”

“I can’t. I don’t think I can yet, Thals.”

Reyna’s voice breaks and Thalia nods at her giving her comforting pats in the back. “This is a disaster” Reyna thinks to herself. She knew her life was tragic but the Gods surely outdid themselves with this one.


	3. Wake

Jason was jolted awake by the sound of lightning. He recollected everything that happened before and didn’t feel the least bit surprised to find himself in a golden casket. The feeling of claustrophobia was kicking in and he pushed on the glass cover of his casket to get out. He looked around the place and realized that they were holding his wake in Camp Jupiter but that wasn’t what surprised him. What shocked him the most was the place they decided on to honor him in his wake, it was the Garden of Bacchus. The garden is on the top of a hill that overlooks New Rome. He distinctly remembers that this is easily one of his favorite spots with Reyna before he was taken away by Hera and this was a place both of them went to when they needed peace and quiet in contrast to all the bustling noises in camp. He felt his heart beat faster because he knew exactly who decided on holding his wake here. 

A memory flashed into his head.

Jason and Reyna intended on going to the Garden of Bacchus to catch the sunset there. Both of them had a tough day because praetor duties were piling work up. In an attempt to end the day on a good note they decided to head to one of their favorite spots. Upon reaching the garden, they sat in an area that overlooked New Rome perfectly. 

“It was a rough day. Do you think praetor’s die from exhaustion, Rey?”

“I think quite a few thought so but I doubt that they did. The chances of dying are higher when you’re on a quest.”

“That’s true. I only hope to reach Elysium when I die, all of this work is making me feel like I’m a step closer towards the doors of death.”

Reyna snort and looks at Jason seriously while he gives her a questioning glance as to why she snorted. 

“Don’t talk like that, Jay. You aren’t dying anytime soon. Plus it would be pretty hard to kill demigod superman, don’t you think?”

“Hey, I’m just thinking ahead. It is kind of rare for demigods to grow old, you know that right? I’d be lucky if I reached the age of 25 at least.”

“Pffft. I doubt that for you, you’re strong Jay and you’re really skilled in battle and strategy. I’m sure you’d make it way past 25.”

Jason gives her a cheeky smile and Reyna smiles back in turn, feeling like she knows he’s about to drop a god awful pickup line. 

“I know I’d make it as long as I have you by my side.”

Jason leans his forehead on hers and Reyna bites on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling any wider. 

“Easy, loverboy. Who knows, I might get to Elysium earlier than you.”

Jason frowns at that while Reyna looks at him teasingly.

“Not funny. I hope we go to Elysium at the same time because it would be pretty hard for me to be without you.”

“And, the same goes for me without you, superman.”

“Mhmm, where do you think they’ll hold our wake before the funeral?”

“Ha ha, Jay this is turning into a weird conversation. But if I were to decide, I think I’d want to hold it here in the garden of Bacchus. It’s beautiful here.”

“We definitely do think alike, I was thinking the same thing. Imagine how beautiful the sunrise and the sunset would look for people who’d attend our wake.” 

“Our wake? Ha ha. Since when did you decide that we would pass on together.”

“Since the day we officially became not-boyfriend and not-girlfriend. I knew I wouldn’t be able to be without you and hopefully it goes vice versa.”

“Of course it does. I think I’d go a bit crazy without you.”

“Just a bit crazy? Really?”

“Oh, don’t expect me to go all out crazy. I’d still have praetor duties to do regardless.”

“You’re incredibly responsible, Rey. What else did I expect?”

“Well one of my duties is you now so you better watch out.”

“Promise if one of us goes on first, we hold the wake here in the garden of Bacchus?”

“Although it’s highly unlikely that it’ll be you, Jay. I promise.”

“I love you, Rey-Rey.”

“As annoying as that nickname sounds, I love you too, Jay-Jay.”

Jason smiles and pulls Reyna into a kiss. She smiles into the kiss steadying both of them then they both look at the sun setting and decide that this was one of those moments that they wish time could stop. 

Jason fixes himself and finds that in death, they dressed him in his old praetor uniform and he couldn’t have felt any more relieved that they honored him dead as a Roman. 

Since it was at an ungodly hour, no one was in sight and he then decides to find Reyna first because she was mainly the reason why he was back to have another shot at life with her. As he runs down the hill, he bumps into someone he least expected. Electric blue eyes meet electric blue eyes and they stare at one another, one is in shock and the other in disbelief. It was Thalia, his sister. Jason was about to break the silence when he was tackled to the ground in a hug by Thalia.

“What the gods? Are you real? Jason? Is this really you?”

“Thals, I guess I’m back.”

“What? How? You were dead?”

“I saw dad in Roman Olympus before I was supposed to go to Elysium and he gave me back my memories and a chance to come back whole as myself.”

“Damn. Dad really knows his favorites. Joking aside, I’m glad you’re back but you better not pull another hero move on us again. I’m gonna kill you, Reyna’s gonna kill you and the others are gonna kill you as well ....”

Jason cut her off remembering who he was trying to find at the moment.

“Reyna! Where is Reyna, Thals? Does she know that I’m dead?”

“Oh gods Jason. It was so bad, she was already looking worse for wear when you left and chose to live in Camp Half-Blood but when we told her you were dead, she looked broken.”

“Oh no, that’s bad. I’ve already put her through enough, I want to make it up to her. I gained all my memories now and I realize that I haven’t acted my best before.”

“Yeah, you definitely acted like a douchebag then. I heard everybody was excited to have you back but you barely gave them the time of the day because you couldn’t remember them.”

“I know, Thals and that is why I came back for redemption. Did you know that Reyna and I were sort of dating before Hera took me away.”

“Oh, I do. She told Annie and I after the war.”

“What? And, you didn’t tell me?”

“Well, you looked so happy with Piper and all Reyna has ever wanted was for you to be happy. She just sucked it up and let you move on.”

“Oh god, I’m such a douche.”

“You definitely were.”

“Hey, we’re siblings, I thought you’d be on my side.”

“I love you brother and no offense to Piper but I liked Reyna way better than her.”

“I didn’t have much of my memories then. My judgement was clouded and when we broke up she admitted to charmspeaking me at times.”

A thought crosses Thalia’s mind and she looks a bit apologetic at Jason. 

“What is it, Thals?”

“Well, I kind of asked Reyna to join the Hunters of Artemis. Ha ha since you know you were gone and everyone knew she couldn’t be alone. Everyone was so worried and you know what Annie and the others are coming because we were supposed to have your funeral today but Reyna hasn’t even come by yet. She refuses to see your dead body so....”

“Thals stop the rambling. I know about that, dad told me and this is why he revived me at this moment. He wanted to give me a shot at happiness and can you believe it Thals? Dad said he actually likes Reyna for me.”

“Oh, I knew that. He has always been team Jeyna.”

“Jeyna? What?”

“Jason plus Reyna, hello it’s Jeyna.”

Jason blushes and Thalia smiles at this.

“Anyways got any idea where I can find her?

“She’s at her praetor villa. You better ask for her forgiveness or else Annie and I will be kicking your ass. That girl has already been through so much.”

“I know, I know. She’s the only one for me.”

Thalia hugs her brother one last time before she watches him run towards the praetor’s villas. She then suddenly realizes what a mess it would be in the morning when people who were supposed to attend the funeral find Jason alive but at least they came to see a breathing Jason. Oh well let’s let it be a reunion.

Jason runs as fast as he could to a place where he knew by heart. He reaches her door and gives three precise and loud knocks. There is no answer. He knocks again and there isn’t any answer. He listens in through the door and hears soft whimpers on the inside. It pains him to think that he caused this so he rummages through the plant pots on her porch and finds the spare key she always left there for him. He grins to himself when he finds it and opens the door. 

There in the middle of her villa is Reyna on the carpet floor curling herself like a ball and sobbing softly while she holds a framed photo of them smiling at the camera arms around each other. He remembers that this photo was taken after a succesful war game a few days after they officially decided to be not-boyfriend and not girlfriend. He smiles softly at her and approaches her carefully. Reyna doesn’t seem to notice the presence of anybody else so he decides to move closer to her and lay down with her on the carpet floor. He carefully turns her to him and wraps his arms around her in a hug, initially she tries to fight his arms off but she relents and sobs into his arms.  
Jason pats her back comfortingly and kisses her head repeatedly to calm her down. 

“Shhhh, it’s okay, Rey.”

“Jason?”

Her glassy eyes look up at him and he sees right there and then how tired she has actually been these past few days. She looks like she hasn’t had a decent sleep in days. He caresses her face and wipes at her eyes.

“Its me, Rey. I’m here.”

“Oh god, I’m losing my mind. I must be hallucinating.”

Reyna grabs onto his shirt to sniff him. Jason stiffles his laugh when he finds her doing this.

“Oh gods, hallucination Jason even smells like him to me.”

“You’re funny, Rey-Rey.”

Jason looks at Reyna who looks incredibly tired for crying her eyes out. She tries to stay with hallucination Jason but her eyes are getting heavier and heavier by the second. It must be the lack of sleep she thought. 

“You know I hate that nickname, Jay-Jay.”

“Hey, I hate that nickname too.”

Reyna feels as though she’s drifting into sleep and as a last ditch effort to keep hallucination Jason with her. She wraps her arms tightly around his waist and she swears she thought he was real. Unbeknowst to her that she was hugging the real Jason in the flesh. 

“Go to sleep, Rey. You should rest your head.”

With those words, Reyna falls asleep in hallucination Jason’s arms. She thinks she’s officially crazy before falling fast asleep. Jason smiles at Reyna when she finally sleeps, this girl could really use it. Let the serious talk be for tomorrow morning and let this time be for the cuddles he missed. Jason missed this, he remembers that they used to sleep and cuddle on the same bed at night to keep the nightmares away and it did work. He wraps his arms and legs around Reyna protectively and lets sleep overtake him as well. His last thoughts being that he would do anything to redeem himself if it meant that he could be together like this with Reyna again.


	4. Annabeth

Annabeth Chase

Annabeth’s eyes were swollen but the same thing goes for everybody else aboard the Argo II. They were on their way to Camp Jupiter as soon as they heard about Jason’s demise. Percy was holding onto my hand looking off to the horizon. Piper was off to side of the ship looking tear strained and guilty while Leo was trying to calm her down. We all knew how guilty she felt because Piper had told them about what happened with Meg and Apollo. She feels as though she was partially at fault for Jason’s death but we all knew that it was a sacrifice that Jason had to make. I never imagined Jason being the first to die among us, he was a really strong contender and I feel like this was a remainder how short the life of a demigod actually is. 

My thoughts drift to one of the most important people in my life since the war, to Reyna. The two of them from the start, didn’t really get along because Annabeth had this fear that she would be replaced by this girl just like Jason had with Piper but Annabeth realized that this girl was no Piper, Reyna was just like Annabeth. She confirmed this when she saw how Reyna deliberately turned away whenever she saw Jason and Piper and at times she thought she saw hurt flash through her eyes briefly. A fond memory of how they became friends found it’s way into Annabeth’s head. 

After the second giant war, everyone decided to celebrate and party. I made time to enjoy myself but I needed a quick breather from all the festivities which is why I excused myself from Percy’s arms and told him I would just use the bathroom. He offered to accompany me but I thought I needed the time to be alone and recollect. So I declined his offer and told him that I would be back quick, he kissed me on the lips quick and left. 

While I was walking away from the party, I saw Frank and Hazel laughing at one another, Will attempting to converse with Nico, Jason and Piper dancing with one another, Dakota, Gwen and Bobby asking me if I saw Reyna, and Leo yet again asking me if I saw Reyna as well. I knew that Leo had a crush on Reyna since he first laid eyes on her and the crush only intensified when he found out during a battle that with a snap of her fingers, Reyna could produce fire. This was a special gift given to her by her mother Bellona and Leo was ecstatic to find out because he was obsessed with fire. Speaking of Reyna, where was she anyways? Shouldn’t she be here watching over the festivities as praetor like Frank? 

Annabeth throughout her stroll was surprised to have reached the garden of Bacchus. How long have I been walking exactly? It’s fine she thought, this place had an amazing view. Annabeth saw two blobs at the farthest side of the garden, that was the best place to overlook all of New Rome. I wonder who could those two be? Annabeth crept towards them to have a closer look and it surprised her to see Thalia with Reyna. What shocked her the most was the sight of Reyna blabbing and choking back a sob, she was always put together and it always seemed like nothing could replace her stoic face. But here she was sobbing while Thalia was talking to her and comforting her. She heard brief snippets of words like “he chose Camp Half-Blood” she stiffened at those words because she thought she was talking about Percy but then she heard snippets of “He just got back” “He doesn’t remember” “He’s got a new girlfriend”. After hearing those she felt everything fall into place, they were talking about Jason.

Annabeth felt guilty for all the times she thought Reyna was gonna steal Percy away because this crying mess in front of her had no intentions on Percy, she supposed she was romantically linked to Jason before he got taken away. And, on a string of bad luck, Jason hadn’t remembered all of his memories, the same way that Percy had. On that note she’s never felt incredibly lucky and incredibly guilty for Reyna, who knows what she could have done if Percy did the same. Annabeth wanted to listen in closer but she stepped on a branch, two heads snapped in her direction. Oh well, might as well make an appearance Thalia already recognized her. She moves towards the two girls, one had a questioning look and the other stiffened and refused to look back. 

“Hey girls”

“Annie, what are you doing here?”

“I was just walking around and by chance I found this place.”

“Well, we’re a bit busy”

“I can see that, is there anything I can help with?”

“That is greatly appreciated Annie but I think Reyna wouldn’t be comfortable talking about this with anybody else.”

Reyna was incredibly still and silent up until this point. 

“It’s alright, Thals. Annabeth probably knows what this is about, she is the daughter of Athena.”

“Are you sure, Rey?”

“Yes, Thals. She can stay and give her opinions. I think I might need it as well.”

“Thank you Reyna for trusting me.”

“Mhmm.”

“I assume this is about Jason.”

“You are right, Annabeth.”

“You might be hard to read Reyna but I am very observant and I’ve seen how uncomfortable his relationship with Piper has made you feel.”

“Of course, it will for her, Annie. They used to be a thing.”

“Oh gods, as in officially together, Reyna? I’m gonna kick his butt. This is no way to treat his girlfriend.”

Reyna snorts at Annabeth and gives her a bitter smile.

“We weren’t official yet but we agreed to figure things out after our term as praetors although we already acted like we were dating with the kissing and everything. We just didn’t put a label on it yet, we called it not-boyfriend and not-girlfriend.” 

“Oh gods, I think I’m gonna be sick. I’m sorry I sided with Piper before Reyna. I just, I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay Annabeth. I’m not exactly an open book and you had no way of knowing.”

“Yeah, Annie. The one at fault here is my amnesiac brother.”

“Please, don’t blame him. He had no choice, he was kidnapped by Hera.”

Annabeth and Thalia’s eye softened at Reyna’s words. It was incredibly obvious that she still cared about him.

“Ugh. This is why sometimes I hate the gods. I wish they didn’t have to meddle with my brother’s life.”

“This is just as unfair to you, as it is to Jason, Reyna.”

“I know, at first I was angry but I realized that maybe this was necessary to bridge the two camps together. I was just a weed in the way. I had to be the one to make the ultimate sacrifice.”

With those wise words, Reyna officially gained the respect of both Annabeth and Thalia. They had no idea how bad things were going for this girl and it amazed them how well she still looked on the outside. How well she was still doing running Camp Jupiter as its praetor, even with a broken heart. Annabeth felt like she wanted to open up to this girl.

“Well, I nearly lost my mind in the 8 months Percy was gone. I couldn’t sleep, I didn’t eat and I couldn’t think straight. He went missing before but 8 months was a long time. I missed his sea green eyes and I prayed to the gods that I’d bear with him even if he always drools on me when he sleeps. I was scared he was dead. I know how you feel.”

Reyna looks gratefully at Annabeth for sharing something so personal. While Thalia smiles at the two girls bonding even though the topic was that of lost and amnesiac boyfriends. 

“I felt the same Annabeth but in my case, I couldn’t let others see how I was crumbling apart. I was praetor, I had duties to tend to despite of everything. I went along with my responsibilities in the morning, it served as a good distraction but .....”

Reyna starts tearing up again and excuses herself for sobbing but Annabeth and Thalia hold each one of her hands and wait for her to continue. 

“I’m sorry for being this weak. This is not how a Roman should be.”

“Forget you’re a roman for today, Rey.”

“Yeah, Reyna. I don’t like showing my feelings as well because I’m a daughter of Athena but a girls gotta cry too sometimes.”

Reyna smiles at this.

“You can call me Rey too, Annabeth. That’s what my friends call me.”

Annabeth smiles warmly at her.

“In that case you can call me Annie as well, only my close friends like Thalia call me that.”

“I’d be honored to, Annie.”

“I feel the same way, Rey.”

“Okay okay girls, I’m happy that you guys formed a bond now but Rey, you were saying?”

Reyna gets teary eyed again and attempts to be brave.

“But every time night comes and the sky turns dark, I miss him. I miss his electric blue eyes. I miss his golden blonde head. I miss his smile. I miss his hugs. I even miss the way he accidentally zaps me when he gets mad about something. I prayed to the gods every single night, I hoped that they would keep him safe and alive. They listened to my prayers, I just wasn’t expecting him to get a new girlfriend while at it.”

Annabeth and Thalia grimaced at this.

“I’m sorry, Rey. I wouldn’t know myself what I would have done if Percy got himself a new girlfriend. I’d probably beat him, slap his new girlfriend and then beat him up again for forgetting me. Actually, I’m gonna be honest with you, I was a bit threathened when he first introduced you to us. I thought you were interested in him.”

“Eew, no offense Annie but that boy is impulsively stupid at times. He’s not my type.”

“Offense none taken, Rey. He is a seaweed brain. My seaweed brain.”

“I still have no idea how Percy was able to land Anniebeth. Don’t you think she could have gone with someone much smarter, Rey?”

“Well I don’t think so, the seem perfect for each other and I’m guessing they’be been through a lot together. Experiences are hard to change, Thals.”

“That’s right, Rey. Percy and I have known each other since we were 12. A lot of history there, the same history you and Jason have.”

“All that history seems to be in the past now since he’s happily dancing with Piper.”

“Don’t tell Piper but I honestly like you better than her for my brother, Rey. I heard Jason knew exactly who he was when he became praetor and he became a better and responsible man because of you. Now, he just seems lost.”

“He does seem lost, Rey. I’ve also thought you were a better pick for Jason. Piper always hated it when Jason made his way to study in the library, she rather read gossip magazines. They are just too different at times.”

“Well he’s made his choice with or without his memories. He picked Camp Half-Blood.”

“I’m sorry, Reyna.”

“My brother is just confused and stupid.”

“Girls really it’s fine. Some things in history deserve to stay in the past, just like him and I.”

“That’s tough but we’re here for you, Rey. I’ll only be roaming around the globe with the Hunters.”

“I’m here for you as well, Rey. In fact, I’m an iris message away. I’ll be in Camp Half-Blood and I’ll visit you with Percy from time to time.”

The three girls turned at the sound of a branch snapping. They find Percy approaching them.

“Percy what ladies? Don’t tell me you’re plotting against me?”

“Actually, we are plotting against you Percy?”

“Oh, yeah, come at me pinecone face.”

“Percy that is no way to treat your cousin.”

“I was kidding, Rey.”

“You gotta stop embarassing yourself seaweed brain. Now how did you get here?”

“Well my girlfriend told me she had to use the bathroom and asked me to stay behind. She’s been gone for a while so I decide to check the girls bathroom and to my surprise she wasn’t there. I felt a bit panicked that Hera might have taken you away too or something so I searched around Camp Jupiter. To my surprise here she is among the most unlikely trio, I thought I would ever see.”

Annabeth looks at him apologetically and Percy looks at her as if to say “it’s okay, wise girl.” Thalia and Reyna looked amused. 

“Sorry, seaweed brain. I got caught up with Rey and Thals.”

“Oooh somebody got a new friend.”

Percy wiggled his eyebrows at Annabeth while the trio rolled their eyes at him.

“You’re being annoying, Percy Jackson.”

“Come on, Rey. Don’t be like that.”

“You are such a drama queen, Percy.”

“We’re cousins, Thals. Side with me, we’re family.”

Thalia scoffs at Percy.

“Okay, okay seaweed brain. Stop being a drama queen.”

Percy looks at Reyna’s red tear strained face and then looks to the two girls with her who looked like they shed a few tears alongside her. 

“Did anyone hurt you guys? What happened?”

The three of them think “Here is Percy as overprotective and as caring as ever.”

“The three of us are fine.”

“Yeah, Reyna just had some things to get off her chest.”

“I’m fine now really.”

Percy quirks his eyebrow at Reyna and a look of realization crosses his features. 

“Jason related problems.”

Annabeth looks to Reyna silently asking her if this is okay. Reyna nods at her as if to say “he knows, I told him before.” Annabeth nods back at her then to Thalia. Percy looks confused at the trio who seems to have had a silent conversation without him, “ugh girls” he thought.

“Yeah, we were just talking about how stupid my brother is.”

“Hey, Jay is my cousin too. He’s a good guy, its just that he forgot.”

“Well he should have at least remembered Rey.”

“Well, wise girl. Not everything in life is fair. We are at the mercy of the gods.”

“Percy is right. It isn’t entirely his fault. Let’s just forget about it.”

“Although Reyna, do not rush things. You do not have to forgive so easily, he was an ass for not remembering even a thing or two about what you guys were. Annabeth would kick my ass if I forgot about her.”

“You know, I would seaweed brain.”

“Okay guys, enough of this talk. We must go back to the party to celebrate.”

“Yeah it would be weird if one out of two praetors, plus two out of the seven, and a huntress was missing.”

Annabeth, Thalia and Reyna stood up linked hands and walked back to the party. Percy was following closely behind watching over the trio. This sight truly was the most unexpected one he’s had, eyebrows were bound to be raised when they caught sight of the three girls laughing and talking alongside a Percy Jackson. Annabeth wouldn’t have had it any other way but she did notice Jason’s eyes giving them curious glances throughout the night. They say it took him years to finally break through Reyna’s walls and it must have been a shock to him to have 3 greeks bonding with her. 

The memory fades into the horizon. Camp Jupiter comes into view and they were about to land on ground. Percy looks at Annabeth.

“You ready for this, wise girl?.”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. I gotta make sure that Rey is doing well first.”

“I kind of want to do the same. You didn’t see how broken she was when she first found me instead of Jason when he went missing. I don’t know how much worse she’s going to look today.”

Piper turned to Percy and Annabeth but silently listened in, Leo did as well next to Piper. Percy and Annabeth didn’t notice this though and continued on with their conversation. 

“Well, let’s hope that Dakota, Gwen, Bobby, Hazel and Frank are watching her. As far as I know, Thals has already gotten there as well, she was fixing arrangements for the wake and the funeral today. She told me Rey barely spoke.”

“Yeah, I heard as well wise girl. Apparently Reyna had been a mess and the only time she was fully present was when they were deciding where to hold the wake.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve had this conversation with Reyna before. She told me and Thalia that if ever she would die she’d want to have the wake at the garden of Bacchus. Apparently, Jason and her talked about it before he lost his memories.” 

“Mhmm. It’s still pretty messed up that he died not knowing his full self.”

“Well we are only at the mercy of the gods, seaweed brain.”

Piper and Leo turn to look at one another. They knew that Jason and Reyna were close friends before he lost his memories but they didn’t know to what extent. Coming back to Camp Jupiter for Leo aside from mourning for one of his bestfriends, was actually a way to get closer to Reyna. He hasn’t given up on the hope of them getting together and these past few months have surely developed him into a worthy man. Piper on the other hand got nervous, she wasn’t fully aware of what happened between Reyna and Jason but being a daughter of Aphrodite she knew that there was a spark of something romantic there which is why he tried to be a good boyfriend to her before by avoiding Reyna at all costs. Ultimately, the new memories they made together weren’t enough to salvage their relationship from his past and it led to them breaking up. Piper still loved Jason and she wonders if she’ll ever love anyone else the same way now that he was dead. They might have broken up mutually but she was still pretty torn over the break up. 

It was approximately 8 AM, when Argo II landed on Camp Jupiter grounds. Everyone got off the ship and they all headed to the garden of Bacchus where Jason’s body was resting. All of them except for Annabeth and Percy, the two of them were heading towards a certain praetor’s villa. They intended to visit Reyna first, hopefully to haul her ass over to the funeral because they both knew that Reyna would probably skip it because she didn’t want to see a dead Jason Grace. 

They were at Reyna’s front porch then they stilled themselves for what they were about to see. They knocked and there was no answer. They twisted the door handle and found it unlocked. When they went inside they expected to see a distraught Reyna, an angry Reyna or a sobbing Reyna but what they saw horrified them both. There was Reyna laying on her carpet sleeping peacefully in the arms of Jason’s dead body. 

“What the gods? Is she for real, why is his body here?”

Annabeth always the observant one, noticed first.

“Wait, seaweed brain. Look at Jason.”

They both looked at Jason and he appears to be breathing while he was sleeping.

“What the hell?”

“Wise girl, pinch me. Is this real?”

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him and thought of different scenarios as to how this could have happened. 

“The gods must’ve given him a gift. The same way they offered you immortality, remember?”

Percy chuckles at Annabeth before saying. 

“Yeah. Well, now we know who is Jupiter’s favorite son.”

“I thought that was Hercules.”

“That was decades ago, wise girl.”

“Who should we wake up first? Jason or Reyna?”

“I say, Jason. We have to let him explain first, I’m not even sure if Rey knows that he’s really alive.”

“Yeah, waking Reyna up first would be a mess.”

“Come on, let’s wake Jason up.”

Percy and Annabeth crossed the room and walked towards Jason and Reyna sleeping on the carpet. Percy flicked Jason on the forehead. Jason mumbled “5 more minutes.” Annabeth looked at him amusedly before slapping Jason lightly in the face.

“Jason.”

“Jason, Jason, it’s your cousin wake up.”

Jason stirred and he looked up surprised to find company. He made sure that Reyna was still sleeping when he removed their arms around one another and lay her head on his lap. 

“Oh, hey guys. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Really, Jason? That’s what you say, you understand you died right?”

“You got a lot of explaining to do, mister?”

Jason sighed and told them everything about the quest he was in with Apollo, Meg and Piper. He also told them about his encounter with Jupiter in Olympus, how he got all his memories back, how he remembered Reyna and how he got here. Jason pushed a few strands of Reyna’s hair away from her face softly. Annabeth frowned and Percy nudged her because of this. 

“What?”

“Stop frowning.”

“How can I not?”

Jason looked up and he understood why Annabeth was frowning. He knew that Thalia, Annabeth and Reyna had formed a bond after the war, he just wasn’t sure if they kept in touch. Based on Annabeth’s reaction, he bets they did. 

“I know you’re mad at me, Annabeth but I lost my memories. I had no control over it.”

“I know you had no control, Jason, but you could have at least approached her or any of your other friends here. You ignored her existence.”

“I was confused, Annabeth. Everyone was so happy to have me back and I didn’t even remember half of the people talking to me.”

“You could have at least tried to talk to them, Jason.”

Jason pulls at his hair and checks if Reyna was still asleep. Thankfully she’s still in deep sleep. 

“I did try, Annabeth but you didn’t see how hurt or dissapointed they looked every time I didn’t remember what they were talking about.”

“Oh, Jason. I’m sorry about that. It’s just that I’ve been there for Reyna. I know what she went through because of you.

Percy clears his throat and finally speaks up.

“Annabeth’s right, Jason. As much as I want to be on your side bro. I saw it too. How broken she was when you were gone and how sad she got when you returned and then left Camp Jupiter for Camp Half-Blood.”

“I’m just not sure if you’re the best thing for her right now.”

“I just don’t want her to see broken again.”

“I understand both of your concerns but you guys aren’t gonna change my mind. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I’m not even sure if I deserve Reyna’s forgiveness but I love her. She’s my epic love story and I’ll be damned if I don’t make it up to her for the rest of my life.” 

Annabeth and Percy both sigh although they’re overprotective of Reyna, at the end of the day the decision was entirely up to her. 

“Fine Jason but you have to understand, I’ll judo flip you if you hurt her again.”

“Trust me brother, it wasn’t a good experience. On a side note, I just wanted to tell you that I’d beat you up as well if you break her heart, she’s like a little sister to me.”

Annabeth softens at Percy’s words because Reyna was important to both of them. Percy and Annabeth felt like Reyna was a little sister that didn’t need any help but they still chose to watch over her.

“I promise, I won’t. Not ever again in this lifetime.”

“I’ll hold you to that promise.”

“I’ll remember that, Jason.”

Reyna finally stirred on Jason’s lap, she rubbed her eyes and immediately sat up to look at her surroundings. 

“Oh no” Percy thought. Annabeth braced herself for the shit storm that was about to go down while Jason swallowed a lump in his throat.


	5. Back

Reyna felt like she was floating. She found herself in the sunflower field of Camp Jupiter. The sunflowers were beautiful, the sunlight gleamed on all of its golden glory. Reyna’s heart constricted painfully, she remembered something else that was golden. One thought crossed her mind, Jason. The painful news of his death made her skin crawl. Suddenly, every single flower in the field died. Then everything was black again. She then heard voices, they seemed to be having a conversation without her. She heard the last few bits of the conversation though before she stirred awake. 

“I promise, I won’t. Not ever again in this lifetime.”

Reyna thought “What? That voice felt very familiar.”

“I’ll hold you to that promise.”

Isn’t that Annie’s voice she thought.

“I’ll remember that, Jason.”

And this voice was definitely Percy’s, she thought to herself. 

Reyna woke up on someone’s lap, she rubbed her eyes and immediately sat up to look at her surroundings. She saw Percy and Annabeth, so that explains why I think I heard them but that would mean that the other voice was .... no no, it couldn’t be last she heard was that he was dead. Then she looked at the person nursing her head before as she slept, she blinked once, twice but the hallucination Jason wasn’t going away. 

Jason was just patiently staring at Reyna waiting for her to react when he was suddenly punched in the arm hard. She was bewildered and her first instinct was to punch his arm, to see if he were real.

“Ouch, Rey. That hurt, you do know you punch hard?”

“Jason? You’re really Jason?”

“In the flesh, of course I am, Rey, who else could I be?”

Reyna glared at him because of what he said. A rush of bitterness surges through her and she is brought back to that time he returned but he wasn’t really her Jason anymore. 

“Oh, I don’t know maybe you’re just another Jason imposter. I sure as hell didn’t know the guy that came home a year ago from Argo II.”

Jason sighed at Reyna while her eyes were dangerously flashing at him as if she were challenging him to a duel. Percy and Annabeth awkwardly move away from them while holding onto one another, they could already feel the tension in the air. 

“Reyna, I’m sorry about that. I was confused, I felt so lost. But I’m Jason, this is your Jason. The one you fought Krios with.”

“Nope, I’m pretty sure that Jason has been dead the moment you set foot on Camp Jupiter aboard the Argo II.”

Percy and Annabeth at this point left and went out to the front porch to avoid the mess that was about to go down. This moment between Jason and Reyna was supposed to be private and they intended to keep it that way but they decided to stay on Reyna’s front porch in case things got out of hand. 

Jason and Reyna completely forgot about Percy and Annabeth’s presence. The conversation between them only getting heavier and heavier by the minute. 

“I know that was how it felt to you, Rey and I understand but I didn’t have my memories then. Everything was still so fuzzy.”

Reyna snapped at Jason.

“What? You can’t tell me that you didn’t remember a single thing about Camp Jupiter. Your home. This was your home for so many years. How can you forget it so easily?”

“I remembered bits of the camp, Reyna. But it was never really enough for me to fully grasp everything clearly.”

Jason looked Reyna in the eye, he found that she was holding her tears back but he knew it was coming because he was doing the same. This topic hurt the both of them. 

“Is that how meaningless Camp Jupiter was to you? Were the friends you made here insubstantial? Were the achievements you’ve made, all for nothing? Was I that forgettable?”

Jason felt like the worst person ever. He knew how hard it had been for Reyna but he was determined for her to forgive him. Reyna on the other hand was feeling overwhelmed, she thought Jason had died.

“Hera wanted that to happen, Rey. It was necessary to bring peace to our camps to end the war.”

“Just because things were supposed to happen that way doesn’t make it hurt any less, Jason.”

“I won’t be making any excuses for what I’ve done. Just lay it all on me.”

“Lay what exactly Grace?”

Jason grimaced, she only called him by his last name whenever she was really mad at him. So he decided stay quiet and let her vent out all her frustrations. 

“That I’ve been lonely since you left? That I had a horrible time those 8 months you were missing? That I cried myself to sleep every night wearing your shirts? That I had to fight Octavian off the praetor role alone because I was waiting for you to come back?”

“Let it all out, Rey.”

“Oh, I’m not even done Grace. What do you know anyways? Did you know that I had to be strong without you even though all I wanted to do was cry because you were missing? Did you know that I was slowly losing my mind wondering if you were dead or alive? Did you know that I prayed to the gods to keep you safe and healthy every night?”

At this point, Reyna was already sobbing along with a pained Jason who felt ashamed. 

“Then you come back! Not a single scratch on your pretty head but you couldn’t remember anything. You even had the decency to get yourself a new Greek girlfriend. Everything just had to be incredibly convenient for you while I was suffering here alone. You left me Jason, you promised you wouldn’t ever.”

Jason tried to step towards Reyna but she always took a step back, she wanted to maintain some distance between them. 

“I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry, Reyna. I didn’t know then. I didn’t know.”

Jason was crying while he tried reaching for her but Reyna didn’t want that. She didn’t want to fall back into his arms easily. 

“The damage has been done, Jason. I don’t think we can repair this anymore.”

“No, no. We always fix everything together. We can do this.”

“I don’t think the same applies this time around.”

“I know I was a douchebag then Reyna but I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know much about my life before which is why I eventually broke up with Piper, I couldn’t live a lie anymore. I wanted to find myself. Trust me when I say that I remember everything. I died yes but my dad gave me another chance at life and he returned all my memories along with it.”

Jason holds onto Reyna’s hands and looks deeply into her eyes.

“Please believe me when I say that I remember everything. Every late night conversation and kisses. I remember it all. Please forgive me Reyna. This whole situation was unfair to the both of us but you had to shoulder most of its weight. I’m here trying to tell you that you do not have to carry it on your own anymore. I’m back, I’m here.”

Reyna blinks away the tears on her eyes and thinks of what she could say. What Jason said made sense but she decided that it wasn’t going to be his fast pass to get to her. 

“That’s good to know. At least you aren’t an ammesiac anymore. I forgive you Jason.”

Jason breathes a sigh of relief but Reyna continues on.

“But I can’t let you waltz right back into my life, Jason. I think that whatever we had, it was supposed to end anyways.”

“But, Reyna. I love you. I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back.”

“I really don’t think there is any hope left for us, Jason. I suggest you move on.”

Every single memory of Reyna flashed in his head. Her smile, her laugh, her eyes and every little thing about her. He couldn’t give her up. Never. Jason thought he wormed his way into her life before and he’ll do it all over again just to get her back.

“I’ll always have hope in me, Rey. Can we at least be friends? Please?”

Jason gives her his famous puppy dog eyes and she has never been able to resist it.

“Fine. Friends then.”

Jason gives her a smile that makes her weak on her knees. Reyna thinks to herself sarcastically “Oh great, this is gonna be a walk in the park.” Jason pulls her in for a hug and before she even refuses, she’s already wrapped tightly in his arms. Reyna just sighs in defeat.

“I missed you and this.”

“Jason, may I remind you, just friends okay?”

“Just friends can hug.”

“Fine.”

Reyna removes herself from Jason’s tight embrace and gives him an inquisitive look.

“Oh god, today was supposed to be your funeral. What about the guests?”

“Oh, I’m sure Thalia’s handled that. I saw her before coming here and falling asleep.”

“You’ve seen each other?”

“Yeah, Rey.”

“Mhmm, why didn’t she stop you from coming here.”

“Well, maybe it isn’t just me that thinks we’d make the perfect match.”

Reyna rolls her eyes at him.

“Jason, friends remember? platonic ones?”

Jason mumbles “not if I can do anything about it.” Reyna was unable to hear it well enough so she decides to raise her eyebrows at this.

“What did you say?”

“Oh nothing, Rey. Just that I’m glad to be back.”


	6. Alive

Thalia was seated at the front of the seats that were supposed to be for Jason’s funeral. When people started piling up and then she saw a few people she knew that came from the arrival of Argo II, she decided to announce the news. She cleared her throat before standing in front of everyone. 

“Hello everyone, I appreciate all of your presence today but there won’t be any funeral.”

People gasped and gaped at Thalia as though she grew two heads. Piper and Leo looked confused but decided to listen to what else Thalia had to say before they reacted. 

“What?”

“Why?”

“Is he going to be buried in the Greek camp?

“He can’t be buried there, He’s roman. One of our own.”

Thalia sighed at everybody jumping to conclusions before she spoke again.

“No it’s not because of that. It’s because he’s alive and no one is going to get buried beneath the ground today.”

The crowd gasped again, surprised by the news and they demanded to see Jason for themselves. Thalia growing impatient answered them.

“Well, if you guys want to see him. Head over to praetors villa. He got all his memories back and was headed there to see Reyna.”

The crowd was yet again surprised but soon everyone came rushing to praetors villa hoping to get a glimpse of their two praetors from before. Everyone knew they were the golden duo and everybody expected them to end up together, well that was until Jason went missing. There they saw Percy, Annabeth, Reyna and a breathing Jason. Everyone rejoiced and greeted Jason. He might have turned his back on them a few months ago but they loved Jason all the same and it warmed their heart even more that now he got all of his memories back. 

Percy, Annabeth and Reyna moved over to Thalia to give Jason some space. Jason was being swarmed by everyone and as much as he wanted to catch up with everyone, all he wanted to do was to be with Reyna. He looked over at her and a sigh of relief came over him when he saw her with Percy, Annabeth and Thalia. He greeted every single person that came up to him. Then came Leo and Piper. Both of the hugged Jason tight and let go to look at him. 

“Man, I thought you died on me.”

“Well, Elysium can’t hold me down.”

Jason and Leo laugh. Piper looks at Jason and she realizes that he still has her heart despite breaking up a few months ago. 

“Sparky, I never thought I’d see you again. I’m sorry about what happened, I would go back to save you if I could do it all over again.”

“Hey, it’s alright Pipes. That sacrifice had to be made and look at me now.”

“How did you even get here?”

“Yeah, Jace. How did you get resurrected?”

Leo and Piper look questioningly at Jason. 

“Well, when I died, I woke up in Olympus and I saw my dad Jupiter. He commended me for being a hero and told me he would give me a gift. Dad returned all my memories and gave me a choice. He told me that I could either live peacefully in Elysium or come back to live my life and fix my unfinished business here. Well, both of you by now know what I picked.”

Leo gave him a nod of understanding while Piper stepped closer to Jason and held onto one of his arms. 

“I’m glad you’re back, Sparky. I missed you and I missed us. Don’t you think it’s time for us to give this another shot?”

Piper looked at him hopefully while Leo grinned at the two of them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Reyna looking over at them and he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea so he gently removed her hand on him. Piper frowned at this and Leo looked confused. 

“I’m sorry Piper but I don’t think we would work out anymore. Especially now that I have all of my memories back.”

Piper gulped and knew exactly where this was headed. Her heart was aching at the thought. 

“But we can make it through, Jason. We did before when you didn’t remember anything and we will now. We’ve made so many memories together already. Why can’t we be us again?”

“That’s the thing, Piper. Memories to be exact, I gained all of my old memories and it pains me to say this but I forgot someone important to me before there was an us.” 

Piper was tearing up now while Jason looked at her apologetically. Leo listened in to the conversation because he was afraid of the information that he would find out.

“Oh gods. You had a girlfriend here?”

“Sort of. We weren’t official yet but all my memories tell me that we acted as if we were already dating.”

“Oh god. I think I’m going to be sick. I was a homewrecker, wasn’t I?”

“It wasn’t all your fault, it was mine too. I was the amnesiac, I was the one that forgot about her.”

A certain her popped into Piper’s head and she knew exactly who they were talking about. 

“Her? It was Reyna, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“I knew she looked hurt when we were holding hands on the way down from Argo II. I thought it was my imagination.”

“Well she has a tough exterior and she has always been strong willed. I admire her for it.”

Jason had this lovestruck expression whe he talked about Reyna and it made her feel sick, that look used to be hers. 

“But she must not want you anymore right? Not after everything and how you forgot about her?”

“She doesn’t, Piper. But that doesn’t mean that I would be giving up on her.”

Piper’s heart panged painfully at his words but she still had hope. This hope would only die if she found out that Jason and Reyna were together again. She had to be clever about this, she thought.

“Fine, but just because you said that doesn’t mean I’d be giving up on you either.”

With her head held high, she walked away to clear her head. Jason sighed at Piper and gave Reyna a small smile across the field. Reyna turned her back on him quickly and conversed with Annabeth again. Leo the approached Jason. “Oh shit” Jason thought he must have heard. He knew Leo had a thing for Reyna before but he didn’t know if he still felt that way about her. 

“That was tough Jason my man.”

“Yeah, it was. I’ve never had a good track record with the ladies.”

“That I agree. Speaking of ladies, I overheard you and Reyna had a thing before?”

Jason raised his eyebrows at him but still answered.

“Yeah.”

“So, I’m guessing you’re gonna pursue her?”

“Of course, I am. A part of the main reason why I’m back is for her, Leo.”

Leo gulped at this but didn’t back down. If Jason was gonna try to woo Reyna then so be it. So Leo held out his hand in front of Jason to shake while Jason looked confused at him. 

“Well, let the best man win?”

“What? You like her too?”

“Yeah, yeah I do, blonde superman.”

Jason sighed at him but he still chose to shake Leo’s hand. 

“Well, I love her, Leo. You better be prepared.”

“Oh, trust me, I have been for a few months already. Fire and fire mixes well together you know.”

“Well, I’ve missed her for so long and trust me I ain’t backing down. I think I prefer fire and lightning together, a much more powerful match.”

“We’ll see, Jace.”

Leo smirked at Jason before walking away from him and heading towards Reyna deep into a conversation with Annabeth. Jason sees this and follows him in quickly towards Reyna. He thinks to himself “Let the best man win, indeed. I hope the gods let it be me.”


	7. Gang

Annabeth, Percy, Reyna and Jason was standing in front of Reyna’s praetor villa engaged in a conversation. 

“Everyone’s here Jason. You should probably tell them that there won’t be any funeral.”

“I will, Annabeth. Although, I think Thalia has that handled already, she’s waiting for everyone to arrive at the garden of Bacchus.”

“It’s amazing that you’re back bro. I suggest you ask others for help, the next time you feel like playing the hero.”

Jason chuckles at Percy. 

“I’ll try to remember that, Perce.”

That was when they heard a flurry and rush of footsteps. They looked at the direction it came from and found the whole of Camp Jupiter plus their friends from Camp Half-Blood rushing towards them. Everyone launched themselves at Jason, welcoming him back while Annabeth, Percy and Reyna backed away from the scene. They soon found themselves standing next to Thalia.

“How did you manage to break the news to everyone Thalia?”

“Well, just a another normal day in my book, kelp head. It was no sweat.”

“You’re a mean cousin.”

Percy pouts at Thalia while Annabeth and Reyna engage themselves in their own conversation.

“How are you holding up, Rey? I trust he managed to explain what happened to you.”

“Ugh, I don’t know about that. I’m confused, I just want to put a pause to things.”

“How are you feeling at least with everything that’s happened?”

“There’s a part of me that’s incredibly happy to have him back and alive but there’s also a part of me that wants to strangle him for remembering what we had too late.”

“I get you, Rey. I’ve been there haha which is why I kissed and judo flipped Percy when I finally found him in Camp Jupiter. It’s all overwhelming.”

“It definitely is, Annie. I conditioned myself actually about the fact that he may never remember anything about what we had and now that he remembers everything, I can’t help but feel that it’s a bit too late for us.”

As Reyna says this to Annabeth, she briefly glances at Jason who was being held onto by Piper. Annabeth looks over at what Reyna was looking at finds Jason attempting to remove Piper from him with a sorry expression.

“I don’t think she ever fully got over him. A few weeks into his stay in Camp Half-Blood and we definitely saw that he losing his grip on himself.”

“Mhmmmmm.. He didn’t seem to have any problem when he left Camp Jupiter.”

“He was always unstable because he never fully recovered all of his memories, he told me once that sometimes it came in flashes and it ended up making him feel confused.”

“He should have stayed home then. Which is here, where he originally belonged.”

“The only familiar thing he had then was us, I guess its because we went on a quest with him and we ended up bonding. I think that’s why he made that choice.”

“Doesn’t make me feel less betrayed, Annabeth. We were friends since we were 12 and he threw all of that away.”

“I know but you have to give him a break too, Rey. Hera took him away.”

Percy and Thalia suddenly butted into the conversation.

“Yeah my brother may be stupid, Rey, but even I have to admit that it wasn’t a 100% his fault.”

“Either of us wanted to be in that predicament, Rey. I would have kissed Annabeth some more if I knew I was gonna be gone for 8 months but just like me, Jason had no choice in the matter.”

“I think my brother also knew that what he had to have with Piper was necessary for Romans and Greeks to cooperate with one another.”

“Yeah, Rey. I think both camps needed that, we’re all stubborn demigods. As a daughter of Athena, I really think that it was supposed to happen.” 

“Mhmmm... I know guys. It’s just that my heart hasn’t healed yet and I don’t think I’m ready to be around him just yet. It was months and months of pain in my heart and I swallowed everything because I knew I had to, no matter how much it hurt.”

Percy, Annabeth and Thalia frown and nod understandingly at Reyna. They all knew how much it hurt their friend and if time was what she needed then Jason better be ready to wait. Thalia and Percy stare at one another with a mischievous glint in their eyes before speaking. 

“Orrrr maybe you just have to take your mind off, dear old Jay-Jay.”

Annabeth grimaces at Percy and Thalia knowing full well where they were planning to take this conversation. Reyna waits for what they have to say curiously. 

“Percy, Thalia, I swear if you are taking this conversation where I think you are, I will skin you guys!”

“Take a chill pill, Annie. Perce and I were talking earlier and we had a brilliant idea.”

“Calm down, wise girl, we’re just suggesting this for Reyna.”

“Fine, what is it?”

“Well since my brother messed up and Rey needs time, I don’t see why she can’t jump back into the dating scene.”

“Yeah, Thals is right. Girls, I actually informed Thalia earlier about the gossip that I’ve been hearing from both camps.”

“And what gossip might this be seaweed brain?”

Thalia immediately answered for Percy, blabbering about. 

“A list of eligible bachelors that are interested in our, Rey-Rey!!”

Reyna blinks at them before saying.

“What? No one is interested in me. What?”

“Ha ha, that’s where you’re wrong Rey. According to the gossip we’ve heard there’s Michael Kale ...”

“Isn’t he a Kahale?”

“Hush Annie, and Percy go on tell us who else is part of the list.”

“Well, there’s Michael like Thalia said. Then there’s Leo, Octavian and Malcolm. Oh and Bobby also thinks Reyna is pretty but knows she’s off limits because of his bro code with Jason, so he’s definitely out.”

Annabeth face palms and silently asks Reyna with a look if what was happening was okay. Reyna shrugs as if to say let them do what they want. 

“Soooo, what do you think Rey?”

“Mhmm, not sure I’m still pretty stuck on Jason.”

“Well, Reyna let’s get you unstuck on him haha this took a lot from me to suggest. Jason and I are bros, he’s probably gonna be mad when he finds out then he’ll ambush me about it.”

“Ha ha then why are you going along with this, Percy?”

“Because I want my little sis to be happy plus you have the luxury of looking at other options.”

“Actually, I think seaweed brain and Thalia may be right, Rey. There isn’t any harm in taking a break of him and expanding your horizons.”

“Ugh, even you Annie really?”

“Well, maybe it’ll give you a chance to really think about things, whether you wanna brave it and be with Jason again or if you want to start with someone new?”

“Promise, you’ll try Rey? Do you swear on the Hunters of Artemis?”

“Yeah give yourself a chance, Rey. Do it for the cute marine animals.”

“Fine, fine, you guys I’ll try.”

Being too preoccupied with their conversation the four of them, didn’t notice two boys approaching them. The first one got to them and spoke. 

“You’re gonna try what, Reyna?”

They all looked behind Reyna and saw Leo standing near her smiling. Annabeth, Percy and Thalia thought “And so it begins, this’ll be interesting”. They smirked amongst themselves when they saw Jason close by approaching them. Reyna just sighed and thought of a fast excuse to say. 

“Oh nothing, just a new pastry I wanted to try at Jupiter Cafe.”

Leo got a happy glint in his eye and an idea popped into his head. Jason arrived and got on Reyna’s other side making her step away from him a bit which made Jason frown. Annabeth, Percy and Thalia were smiling ear to ear at the drama that was about to unfold.

“You want to get some with me? I’d love to taste it too.”

Jason catches on immediately and remembers what Leo told him earlier about letting the best man win over Reyna.

“Taste what? If it’s food, I’d want to come too.”

“Really, Jace I would have thought you’d have a lot of catching up to do with the others now that you’ve got your memories back.”

“Well, one of the people I have to catch up with is Rey, might as well do something she would want to do right?”

“Didn’t Piper want to catch up with you?”

“Nope, not that I know of, Leo.”

Reyna rolls her eyes at the two of them, obviously noticing the tension building up between them. Thankfully, Gwen, Dakota and Bobby come over then they hug Reyna and Jason.

“The golden gang are back at it again, let me celebrate with some Kool-Aid!!”

“Yeah! Feels good to be finally complete right Gwen?”

“Definitely does, wanna grab something to eat at Jupiter Cafe like old times, Rey-Rey and Jay-Jay?”

Reyna and Jason roll their eyes at their friends then unconciously look at one another. Jason immediately smiles at Reyna while Reyna huffs and avoids his eyes.

“Pretty please guys?”

“Fine, but I have praetor duties later okay? I need to be back in my villa later.”

Jason smiles at her words and thinks “same old Reyna, as responsible as ever.”

“How can I refuse you guys? I missed you guys and now that my memories are back I think I even missed the most annoying things you guys do.”

Dakota, Gwen and Bobby smile at what they said before linking their hands together and dragging both Reyna and Jason away to Jupiter Cafe while waving goodbye at Annabeth, Percy, Thalia and Leo. 

“Bye guys!! See you later!”

“Let us steal these two for a bit!!”

“I hope you enjoy camp while you’re here feel free to drink some of my kool-aid in the mess hall.”

“I’m sorry guys, these chumps are dragging me away for a bit but I’ll be back to finish my praetor work later.”

“Seeeee ya sis, Perce, Annie and Leo. Got a lot of catching up to do with this gang.”

Annabeth, Percy and Thalia laugh at Leo’s confused and disappointed look. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll get her tomorrow, tiger.”

“Or maybe later, wise girl.”

“Ha ha up your game, Valdez. Make the Hunters proud.”

“Ha ha you guys. You’ll see, I came prepared for months.”

Annabeth, Percy and Thalia shake their heads and snicker at him as they walk off while Leo has a determined smile on his face.


	8. Cafe

As the gang heads to Jupiter Cafe, Dakota, Bobby and Jason walk ahead of Gwen and Reyna. The girls smile at the boys bonding again over the time they lost with one another. Gwen glances at Reyna and looks quite pleased that the scene managed to put a smile on her usually stoic face. It was just like old times. 

“Sooo, tell me the deets, sting-Rey.”

“What do you mean, Gwen?”

“Come on, everyone knew you guys were practically dating unofficially before he went missing. What about now?”

“Nothing’s changed, I’m still me and he’s still Jason.”

“Aren’t you at least gonna give yourselves another chance?”

“What? Why would I?”

“Well, he remembers now.”

“And, so?”

“Rey, he remembers everything now. Every kiss, every touch and I bet he also remembers the first time you guys got intima-....”

Reyna clamps her hand on Gwen’s blabbering mouth and her cheeks turn incredibly red. They look around and find the coast clear before continuing on with the conversation. Although they were unable to notice Jason glancing discreetly at them. He listens in on the two of them while he mindlessly nods at what Bobby and Dakota are saying. 

“Gwen, that’s a private affair and I only told you about that because you’re my girl bestfriend. Plus, I love him and I could see it in his eyes that he wanted it. That’s why I agreed, I could never say no to him then.”

Jason curiously listens in trying to piece two and two together. 

“See!! You still said love, not loved. That means you still feel something for him. Oh, trust me I know, I actually thought you’d never be interested in sex and then came our very own golden boy.” 

Reyna sighs. 

“Strong feelings like that don’t just go away, most especially not when we’ve bonded emotionally and physically. Who forgets their first.”

“Why can’t you guys just bang and make up? Everyone knows you guys are bound to find each other in the end.” 

“It’s not that easy, Gwen. Plus I think him and Piper might have .....”

Jason scrunched his eyebrows at hearing that because he knew what they were talking about and Reyna was assuming wrong. He has never been that intimate with Piper, sure she always tried with him but he always found a way to get out of it. His heart just wasn’t fully into it. His train of thought is interrupted by Gwen. 

“We don’t know that, Rey-Rey. I honestly think that he still loves you, even more now that he has his memories back.”

“That might just be wishful thinking. Anyways I had to ask you something, Percy, Annabeth and Thalia think I should open myself to the market.”

“Oh, oh, I get it. Start dating other people. I’m honestly still team Jason but if you want to date other people, I say go ahead, Rey-Rey. You deserve happiness.”

Jason thinks “Aha! I’m gonna strangle Percy, Annabeth and Thalia for encouraging her to do that but she is entitled to do anything she wants because of what she’s been through”. Although this was the situation, Jason can’t help but think that she belonged with him and he would still do his best to win her affections back. 

They reach Cafe Jupiter and the five of them seat in their usual table then Dakota, Gwen and Bobby decide to order. Jason sits down and looks at Reyna, she looks back at him as if asking him “what is it?”.

“Rey, what was the pastry you wanted to try?”

“Oh haha well that was just an excuse I made while talking to Leo earlier, Jason.”

Jason smiles at that because at least he thought he upped Leo by one. 

Gwen, Dakota and Bobby come back with their food and drinks. The five of them talk animatedly for hours, enjoying one another’s company because its been a while since they hung out like this. That was when a certain son of Athena decided to make his way over to them, clearly looking at Reyna. Jason remembered Malcolm was here as an exchange camper from the Greek camp, he’s been here in Camp Jupiter for 5 months. When Malcolm reaches them he clears his throat. 

“Hi guys! Uh ... can I excuse praetor Reyna for a bit?”

Jason looks pointedly at Malcolm while Gwen, Bobby and Dakota look entertained. Reyna looks uncomfortable but she has always been polite. 

“Oh, uh sure, Malcolm. But whatever it is of your concern, you can tell me in front of my friends.”

Malcolm looks uncomfortable but he gathers all of his courage and pushes on with his plan. 

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie tomorrow? I heard Aquaman was nice and its been out for a week.”

Reyna isn’t sure what to say but Gwen nudges her and looks at her as if to say “Remember what we talked about earlier, try to put yourself out there.” Reyna rolls her eyes at her and nods. 

“Fine.”

They look at Reyna surprised. Malcolm blabs on seemingly not hearing Reyna. 

“I assure you, I have good intentions plus I’ll have you as soon as .... wait did you just agree?”

“Yes, Malcolm I accept.”

Reyna smiles encouragingly at Malcolm. Jason feels his heartbreak and he immediately thinks of a plan to put an end to whatever it was starting with Reyna and Malcolm. 

“Okay, thank you praetor Reyna. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Oh, please just call me Reyna. See you, Malcolm.”

“Right, Reyna. I’ll pick you up at your villa by 4 pm.”

Malcolm walks away looking like he won the lottery while Reyna just sighs. The boys in their table stare at her incredulously while Gwen proudly smirks at her. 

“Aha! There goes my Rey-Rey. Knocking them boys off their feet again. Ain’t that right, Jay-Jay?”

Jason frowns at Gwen while Dakota and Bobby hide their amused smiles. They knew exactly why Gwen was riling Jason up, they all knew that Jason was the jealous type and they were sure as hell that he would find a way to disrupt Reyna’s date tomorrow. 

“Mhmm. Reyna doesn’t need any boy. If you don’t want to go tomorrow Reyna, I can easily tell Malcolm off just tell me.”

Reyna’s heart skips a beat but she ignores it and stares at Jason’s worried glance. 

“It’s fine, Jason. I actually think that I need to go out more.”

Gwen butts in and says.

“Yeah! Our sting-Rey deserves a break and I wouldn’t mind either if it came with the company of a hunk like him.” 

Jason glares at what she said while Gwen looks like she’s challenging Jason. 

“Ugh, please she could do better. He’s just a clueless blondie.”

Dakota and Bobby laugh at his words before they join in the conversation.

“The green eyed monster isn’t a good look on you, Jay. Plus he’s smart because he is Athena’s son.”

“Ha ha Jay!! You do know you’re a blondie as well right. Let Reyna get some.”

“Just as I said, she doesn’t really need any boys in her life right now.”

Gwen laughs at that and scoffs. 

“And why is that, Jason? Care to share the reason why Reyna doesn’t need to put herself out there?”

“Because she belongs with me. She’s my girl.” 

Jason suddenly blurts this out unconciously and zaps everyone in the table with electricity. He then realizes that Gwen, Dakota and Bobby are now grinning from ear to ear. Reyna looks conflicted before finally breaking her silence on the conversation. 

“Uhm..well. Jason, there hasn’t been a me and you in a while. I watched you fall in love with another girl and I let it happen because all I ever wanted was for you to be happy. Maybe it’s time to let me go. I’m going on that date tomorrow and that’s final. Now I have praetor duties, I need to tend to. Bye.”

Reyna rushes out of Jupiter Cafe while Gwen mumbles a “Don’t worry Jason, I’m still on your team. Just give her some time, bye guys.” Then she runs after Reyna. 

Dakota, Bobby and Jason are left behind in their table looking at one another. 

“Well, what are you gonna do now Jace?”

“Yeah, we’ll always be on your side, you need a kool-aid?”

“Naaah but I do need help tomorrow guys.”

“With what?”

“Why?”

Jason grins at Bobby and Dakota. 

“Are you guys interested in watching Aquaman?”

Bobby and Dakota cringe because they knew exactly where this was going but they always did support Jason and Reyna’s relationship. Getting them back together would be a dream. 

“Oh no, Jace. Are you gonna do what I think you’re gonna do?”

“Jason, Reyna is going to kill you then us.”

“Oh well, people do say that all is fair in love and war. Let’s sleep early later boys, we better be ready to plan on crashing a date tomorrow.”

The gears in Jason’s head turn and he thinks to himself “You better prepare your big guns Malcolm because I’ll be crashing in tomorrow with guns blazing haha figuratively of course.”


	9. Date

Gwen was walking around the camp with a happy skip to her steps. She was incredibly happy that their Jason was alive and back home. It made her feel so sad and betrayed when he forgot them after all the years that they’ve spent together but none of them ever really had the heart to stay mad at their Jason because they all knew it wasn’t his fault he got taken away. Gwen knew that if Jason had a choice then he would have never left them or most importantly Reyna, at the time that he went missing because those two were practically inseparable. She knew full well that her two friends were in love and when Jason finally came back aboard that Argo II ship, she knew it hurt Reyna when she saw him holding onto another girl’s hand after waiting for him for 8 months. She had to admit Reyna hid her feelings well but her close friends could always see behind the mask she put on, every flash of hurt and pain on her face, Gwen knew that very well. After thinking of sad Reyna during the course of Piper and Jason’s relationship, she felt like she had to tell Jason off just in case he hurt her again. They were both her friends but she hated seeing Reyna the way she was before and with a new found mission she makes her way towards Jason’s praetor villa before she bugs Reyna. Frank was the new praetor but he preferred staying at his own cohort so they left Jason’s villa as it is. Gwen reaches Jason’s doorstep and knocks. She is greeted by a Jason with a serious case of bed head. 

“Jay Jay, morning.”

Jason sleepily squints at her and rubs his eyes.

“Oh, Gwen, not to be rude but what are you doing here so early?”

Gwen laughs at him.

“Uuh, it’s almost lunch time, Jason. Everyone was waiting on you at breakfast but we figured you slept in.”

Jason looked surprised and glanced at his watch. “What Gwen said was right” he thought. 

“Oops, I guess I slept in. I couldn’t sleep well last night.”

Jason’s thoughts were then filled with Reyna and Malcolm on a date and he frowns instantly because thinking of it brought an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. Gwen smiles at Jason’s face frowning, she knew her friend and she knew exactly what brought that frown onto his face so she decides to tease him. 

“Didn’t sleep well, huh? Would what kept you up, have anything to do with our little Rey Rey?”

Jason gets an embarassed flush on his face and tries to deny it.

“What? Nooo.”

Gwen has a mischievous glint in her eye and she clicks her tongue.

“Well in that case, I am excited for her date. We both know that Reyna doesn’t do dates so this would be a change.”

Jason grimaces at the thought of Reyna on a date with someone else other than him. 

“Hey, she does do dates but before she only did when it was with me. She doesn’t need to go on any new ones especially if the guy she’s meeting isn’t me.”

Gwen was enjoying this she wanted to rile Jason up before giving him the break her heart, I’ll break your face speech she had.

“Oh Jay Jay, Reyna deserves to go out. Her praetor duties are the only things she’s focused on and I’m afraid that if any guy can keep up with her, it would be that braniac Malcolm. He is Annabeth’s brother.”

Jason rolls his eyes at this. 

“I know he is but Reyna can manage on her own and she can get by with me by her side just like old times.”

“Jason you left her before and it wasn’t a pretty picture. I hated watching her pretend to be strong with you missing. I’m just not sure if you’re what’s best for her right now.” 

Jason feels the static in the air, he tries calming himself down because he didn’t want to accidentally shock anyone, especially not Gwen. 

“What is it with everyone trying to keep me away from Reyna? Just so you guys know, I am not backing off, she was my girlfriend and technically we haven’t even broken things off yet.”

“Jason, I know you’re frustrated but believe me when I tell you that you really hurt her before.”

“I know that, Gwen, she already told me that but that won’t scare me away. I came back here for a reason, I wanted to fix things with everyone and I want to be with Reyna.”

“Well maybe some things are better off without you. Sometimes you need to let go.”

Jason runs a frustrated hand on his hair. 

“I can’t, Gwen. I can’t let her go, every night when I try to sleep, I can’t and its because I know that she used to sleep next to me and it was the absolute best feeling in the world. It kept the nightmares away for the both of us and now that she isn’t there with me, it just feels empty.”

“Jason, do you still love Reyna?”

Gwen knew the answer to her question but she just wanted to hear it from him. She just wanted to make sure that he was sure of his feelings now. 

Jason stares at Gwen with a serious expression before speaking. He knew he was having this conversation with Gwen because she didn’t want him to hurt Reyna again. 

“Of course I do, I always have and it never went away.”

“It never went away? How do you explain your past relationship with Piper?”

“I didn’t have all of my memories then Gwen and deep down I knew something wasn’t right when I was with Piper. It felt a little bit too perfect and it was because everything was fabricated but I knew deep down that something was stopping me from going any further with her.”

“You better be telling the truth, Jay Jay. I would hate to see Reyna’s heart break again.”

Jason smiles at Gwen. 

“Oh trust me, Gwenny. You weren’t the first one to tell me off, Percy and Annabeth beat you to that.”

Gwen smiles at this. Percabeth was a nice couple and everyone could see that they were made for each other. They often visited Camp Jupiter with Thalia to check on Reyna and all of them used to hang out. 

“Ha ha knew they would. They look after Rey Rey a lot too.”

“I knew they were friends but I didn’t know that they were that close.”

“Oh they are, Annabeth and Reyna are practically like sisters. They are so alike in so many ways. Plus Thalia and Reyna are great sparring partners.”

Jason laughs at that.

“Well now that you’ve said that, it does make sense. Anyways I was gonna let you in on a plan that I have.”

Gwen raises an eyebrow at Jason.

“What is this about?”

“Well, I’m planning on crashing Reyna’s movie date today.”

Gwen snorts at this.

“Of course you were. You were always the jealous type Jason. I remember all the boys you warded off Reyna.”

This memory brings a smile to both their faces. 

“I had to look out for her.”

“Or you just did it so that she wouldn’t get interested in anyone else.”

“Well, it did work. Ugh, I just want to be with her again, why is it so difficult?”

“Well step it up Jay Jay.”

“I will, I’ll take that as a seal of approval from you on me crashing her date later.” 

Gwen winks then feigns ignorance.

“Oh, I know nothing about that now I gotta go and do more rounds. I’m gonna have to help Reyna prepare later. See you later, lightning Mcqueen.”

“See you later, Gwenny.”

———————————————————-

Reyna was done making her rounds in camp then she looked at her watch and saw that it was already 3 pm. She thought “Gwen would kill me if I was late.” She heads straight to her villa and finds Gwen looking bored on her bed. Gwen looks at her and smiles.

“Well it’s nice to see you on time, Rey Rey.”

“Of course, Gwen. I’m pooped for the day.”

“We gotta get you ready for your date.”

“Do I have to go?”

“You told him yes so you do. Not unless there’s a different reason you dont want to go? Is it because of a blonde haired son of Jupiter that we both know wouldn’t like this?”

Gwen smirks at her and Reyna gives her an annoyed look. 

“He has to be alright with this. Plus that ship has already sunk, Gwen.”

“Does he know that Rey Rey? I had a talk with him earlier and he still seems pretty set on you.”

“He’ll move on, Gwen. Just like he did before with Piper. It was easy for him before.”

Gwen grimaces at this and sighs.

“Reyna things are different now. He has his memories back. This is our stubborn Jason Grace and trust me when I say that I know he isn’t going to give up on you guys.”

Reyna rolls her eyes at her.

“Well, I’m stubborn too. I don’t know if it’ll be right if we be together again. The gods didn’t even approve of us being together before.”

“I think they do now, they even brought him back here. Just think about it.”

“I’ll try to but he has to move on. There are a ton of girls here in Camp Jupiter and all the more in Camp Halfblood.”

“Reyna, we both know he’s going to stay in Camp Jupiter now that he has his memories back and those girls are not who he wants.”

“Ugh, why does my life always have to be complicated?”

“Your life has always felt like a soap opera, Rey Rey. And I play the greatest supporting character ever.”

Reyna laughs at this and playfully shoves Gwen.

“Ha ha, very funny, Gwen.”

“Enough about Jason, so tell me about this Malcolm?”

Reyna and Gwen discuss the date and Malcolm while they prepare. By the end of all their preparation, Reyna is dressed in blue tube sun dress with her hair let down. Gwen marvels at her work and decides they need one final touch to the outfit. 

“Where’s your denim jacket, Rey? That would look perfect on this ensemble.”

Reyna’s face drains of its color when she remembers where she left that denim jacket.

“Oh no, that ones at Jason’s?”

Gwen smirks at this and teases her.

“Ooh why is it at Jason’s huh?”

Reyna gets flustered and Gwen grins wider at this. 

“Weeell.... Uh.... Okay..The night he went missing we were uuuh .... anyways after that I forgot about it there and you know how things went when I found out he was missing.”

“Mhmm, well I really want that jacket on this outfit. Go get it, Rey.”

“What? No, it’s at Jason’s.”

“And so? You guys are friends right?”

“Yes, but but .....”

Gwen grins at Reyna.

“Not unless you aren’t over him.”

Reyna sighs.

“Fine, Im gonna go get it.”

Gwen claps her hands together and smiles at her. Her plan was going her way “This’ll be a push of encouragement for Jason, when he sees her dressed like this he won’t let her out of his sight.”

Reyna nervously goes over to Jason’s and knocks on his door. He answers the door and is surprised to see Reyna. Jason looks awestruck for a moment before Reyna clears her throat at him. 

“So, I just have to get something that I left here before.”

“Oh, alright come on in.”

Jason follows Reyna to wherever it was she was going to and makes small talk.

“Ready for your date?”

“Yeah, I’m just trying to find my denim jacket here. I left a lot of things here, sorry about that.”

“I don’t mind, we were practically living together here before I went missing anyways.”

Reyna finds her jacket and puts it on. Jason stares at her and couldn’t help but think “She is beautiful and there is no way in hell that I’m not crashing this date.” Jason smirks at her while Reyna looks at him confusedly.

“What?”

“Nothing. You just look beautiful.”

Reyna blushes at this and mumbles a thanks.

“Thanks.”

Jason sighs and runs a hand through his hair. Reyna notes that he only ever does this when he’s frustrated about something.

“Rey, I don’t want you to go.”

Reyna turns away from him and tries to walk past him.

“You have no say in this anymore.”

Jason blocks her way and crosses his arms.

“Reyna, please just stay here. I’ll even get you a pack of jelly beans.”

“I can’t Jason, I don’t break my promises.”

That stung Jason but Reyna intended for that.

“Reyna, I’m sorry.”

“I know Jason how many more times are you gonna say that. I said it’s okay.”

“Everything doesn’t feel okay. And, I am gonna say it as much as I want because I miss you.”

“Jason let’s just move on from this, okay? Just forget we ever happened.”

Jason grabs onto her hands and stares at her.

“That’s the thing, I can’t Rey. Not when I’ve got this overwhelming feeling of love for you.”

Reyna tries to break away from him but his grip is firm.

“Jason, stop. We’re done, we already discussed this.”

“No, it’s not. You and I both know that. There’s chemistry between us and you can’t deny the pull we feel whenever we’re together.”

Reyna feels like she’s trapped so she knees him lightly where the sun doesn’t shine and runs back to her villa.

“Not if I can’t help it, Jason.”

Jason nurses the spot she hit him and thinks that “She’s still got that spitfire in her” “If she thinks I’m gonna let this date happen she’s wrong”. Jason grabs his phone then he calls Dakota and Bobby and says “Guys, its still on meet me in 5”.

Gwen is suprised by a frantic looking Reyna. 

“Are you alright, Rey?”

Reyna laughs nervously and this gets Gwen’s attention. 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Before Gwen gets to question Reyna any further, they hear a loud knock at the door. Gwen grins at Reyna and pushes her towards the door.

“Knock him dead, tiger.”

Reyna rolls her eyes at her and goes out to meet Malcolm at the door. She opens the door and is greeted by a bouquet of red roses.

“Oh wow, Hi Malcolm.”

Malcolm stares dumbfounded at Reyna. He thinks “She is even more beautiful in civilian clothes. Oh god I must look stupid just staring at her.” 

“Reyna, you look beautiful these are for you.”

Reyna stares at the flowers and she smiles up at him. This might not be the same as the casablanca lilies that Jason usually got her before but maybe it was time for a change. Malcolm’s heart melts a bit at her smile and he wipes his sweaty palms onto his pants. 

“Thank you Malcolm, they are beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.”

Reyna smirks at him playfully.

“Who would have thought that you’d be a smooth talker, Malcolm?”

Malcolm smirks back at her.

“They are a lot of things you don’t know about it me yet. Well, let’s go?”

Malcolm offers his hand to her and Reyna looks at him hesitantly before she relents. He sees her hesitate and clears his throat.

“Come on, I don’t bite.”

Reyna rolls her eyes at his playfulness. She reminds her a bit of the old Jason. 

“Ha ha, very funny.”

The two of them walk out of her villa unaware that there were four pairs of eyes watching them. One from Reyna’s room and three from Jason’s villa. Dakota and Bobby were curiously staring at Jason as they watched on the exchange between Malcolm and Reyna. They felt a zap of electricity on their fingers.

“Ouch, cool it, lightning mcqueen.”

“Yeah, Jace. Chill out, all of us know you and Reyna are eventually getting back together.”

Jason runs his hand through his hair and looks up at the two apologetically. 

“Sorry guys, I just don’t like seeing my girlfriend with other guys.”

Dakota rolls his eyes at Jason.

“Oh come on man, it’s ex girlfriend now. You were busy dating that Piper girl before.”

“Nope, we haven’t broken up officially yet and I blame the mist plus the amnesia for dating Piper. She was a nice girl but I always knew something felt off.”

“Well, you’ve lost your chance now. Why not let her move on?”

Jason looks at Dakota with a pained expression on his face.

“I can’t Kota, I love her. I can’t just let her be with someone else, not when I know that we belong together.”

Bobby’s eyes soften at this and he gets into the conversation before it gets out of hand. He places a hand on Jason’s shoulder and nods at him understandingly. 

“We know, Jason. We were the ones there to see you two together before you got taken away. I may not like it that you hurt her but I think you guys do belong together.”

Dakota swallows the lump in his throat and nods at what Bobby said. 

“Yeah, Jace, you guys belong together but maybe you should give her some space.”

Jason crosses his arms and looks at the two of them before speaking. 

“And watch her fall in love with other guys? I don’t think so.”

Dakota sighs at Jason.

“You do know that she watched you do the exact same thing right?”

Jason looks at them with a guilty expression and nods.

“I know and I have been saying sorry for it every single day but I’m not gonna let her go that easily, I’m not going away, not without a fight.”

Bobby smiles at Jason’s determined face.

“Fine, I’m supporting this but only because I like seeing the both of you happy. Reyna was the most laid back I’ve seen her when she was with you.”

Dakota sighs and smiles at Jason.

“I support this as well but I hope you stop getting kidnapped by gods and wiped off of your memories.”

Jason chuckles at them.

“I’ll try to avoid that. Come on guys, we gotta catch up to them. You know the plan we act surprised when we see them and I sit next to Reyna in the movie theater while Malcolm will most certainly be on her other side.”

The trio then head to the movie theater, they easily spot Malcolm’s blonde hair and Reyna’s dark one among the crowd. They line up close to them discreetly so that they wouldn’t get noticed. Dakota gets them their snacks while Jason and Bobby buy the tickets and pick the perfect seats next to Reyna’s date. They move into the movie theater and head towards Reyna who was alone, they saw Malcolm in line buying popcorn before they went in.

———————————————————-

Reyna had a pleasant conversation with Malcolm on their way to the movie theater. She was engrossed in her own thoughts when she felt the people who were gonna see the movie as well sit beside her. Reyna looked up and she had to blink twice, she knew those electric blue eyes anywhere. She put on a glare on her face and waited for Jason to explain himself. 

Jason was getting comfortable beside Reyna when she looked up. “Oh oh, time to put my acting skills to the test” he thought. He ignored her glare and pretended to be surprised.

“Rey, what a surprise, what are you doing here?”

Reyna narrowed her eyes at him and raised her eyebrow at Bobby and Dakota behind him. She then sarcastically says. 

“Gee, what a surprise, Jason. But, Bobby and Dakota, what are you doing here?”

Bobby and Dakota look at her nervously before smiling at her.

“Well us boys, wanted to hang out?”

“Yeah, Rey, it’s been a while since we boys hung out.”

Jason feels relieved for Bobby and Dakota having his back, he bumps his fists with them and gives Reyna a blinding smile. This smile makes Reyna’s heart flutter but she pushes the feeling away and presses on. 

“Mhmm, and you chose to watch a movie out of every other hang out place?”

Jason gives her that smile again and he winks at her.

“Why not, Rey?”

Reyna facepalms and lets it go. 

“Fine but I’m here with Malcolm okay? Don’t ruin my date.”

Jason has a mischievous glint in his eye and Reyna internally screams “oh no.”

“I promise, I won’t.”

“Liar” Reyna thinks.

“Good.”

Malcolm comes back with popcorn and raises his eyebrows at their new found company but he decides to greet them and then focus on Reyna. 

“Hey, Jason, Bobby and Dakota, fancy seeing you guys here. Reyna, here I got you some popcorn, I hope you like white cheddar.”

Jason looks at Malcom and says.

“Actually she likes the nacho cheese flavored popcorn.”

Reyna thanks the heavens that it was dark in the theater already so she steps on Jason’s feet silently asking him to keep his mouth shut. Jason looks accusingly at Reyna then lets it go.

“Thank you Malcolm, I think it’s time I try the other popcorn flavors. Who knows my favorite flavor might change?”

Jason snorts at that and both Reyna and Malcolm look at him surprised.

“What? She’s loved that flavor since we were 12, I highly doubt that, Rey.”

Malcolm was feeling the tension in the air, he was a son of Athena so he easily read between the lines, Jason was mad that Reyna was on a date with him and Reyna was mad that Jason was there. “Why do I feel like there’s too much history between them, I’m not even sure if they dated” he thinks. 

The movie starts and they all get immersed in it forgetting about their discussion earlier. Halfway through the movie Malcolm pulls out the most classic date move in the book, he stretches his arms out and attempts to place it behind Reyna in her seat. Jason immediately notices this and glares at him but Malcolm refuses to remove his arm. Reyna looks unbothered by it and it ticks Jason off. 

A few minutes later, Jason has had enough he stares at Reyna and finds her hand on the arm rest beside him. He takes his chance and clasps her hand in his on the arm rest.

Reyna knew it was dark but the moment she felt warmth in her hand, she knew full well whose hand it belonged to. She tries to pull it away discreetly but Jason holds her hand in his tightly. Reyna gives him a warning look but he ignores it. She sighs and lets him hold her hand. Throughout the rest of the movie, she was unable to focus because her thoughts were preoccupied by the familiar warmth she felt when Jason was close. “I should really avoid him, he’s clouding my judgement again” she thinks. She is jolted back into reality when she feels the warmth in her hand disappear and the movie’s end credits roll. Malcolm offers her his hand and she accepts it. Reyna was gonna be honest, she felt no spark of electricity, not in the way she did whenever she and Jason touched. 

Jason saw her take Malcolm’s hand. He clenched his jaw and let it go. He moved towards the two of them with Bobby and Dakota in tow.

“So where are you guys headed to now?”

Malcolm and Reyna looked surprised.

“Uuuhm, what do you think Reyna?”

Reyna nervously looked between the two of them. The tension was obvious and she wanted to get out of this situation. 

“Uuh I have praetor work left to do. I think I’m gonna head home.”

Malcolm frowns thinking that they’re date was gonna be cut short but he understood that Reyna had duties and he admired her for her diligence. Jason smiled and saw this as a window of opportunity to keep an eye on both of them.

“Well we were going home as well. Let’s all walk home together?”

Malcolm didn’t want this to happen because he hoped to spend more alone time with Reyna but he wanted to be polite to her friends so he said okay.

“Okay, is that alright with you Reyna?”

Reyna sighed and smiled up at Malcolm.

“It’s alright, come on guys.”

They all walked home together to Camp Jupiter. When they reached the camp Bobby and Dakota bid them goodbye, they told them that they had to check on someone that they pranked. With a reprimanding glare from Reyna, an amused smile from both Jason and Malcolm, both boys scurried away. And then there were three left walking to the prateor villa. Malcolm insisted that he get her safely to her door like a gentlemen should despite her complaints about it being too late already. They reach the villas and Jason hesistantly says goodbye. He discreetly hides in a bush and watches the two of them from there. Malcolm gets them to her door and smiles at her. 

“Thank you for today, Reyna. It wasn’t perfect but I had a lot of fun.”

“I’m sorry about them, Malcolm. I didn’t know they were going to be there as well.”

“Oh, it’s no problem Reyna. I know that they can be quite overprotective. They are your close friends after all.”

Reyna smiles at his understanding nature and it sends a stab at her heart as well, she thinks that Jason used to be like this as well. 

“Thank you Malcolm for being so understanding. I had a great time as well.”

Malcolm feels butterflies in his stomach when he sees her smile. With every ounce of courage he had, he placed his hand on the side of her face and leaned in slowly. Reyna panicked “Is he leaning in to kiss me? Oh god, I haven’t kissed anybody else since Jason” she thinks. 

Jason can see this from his position and he knew exactly what was about to happen. He can’t let this happen so on pure impulse he jumps over the fence between their villas and interrupts the moment.

“Reyna!!! I have an issue I need to discuss with you!”

Malcolm is annoyed by the interruption but thinks with logic, if the issue was important he’d let it slide. So he tells her goodbye and kisses her on the cheek before leaving. Reyna still shocked is frozen, Jason drags her into his villa and then he closes the door. She gains a semblance on what just happened and has a pissed off face. Jason thinks “oh shit.”

“What the hell, Jason? I was in the middle of something.”

Jason looks annoyed because he knew what something she was referring to.

“I don’t know what you mean. I just had an issue to discuss with you.”

Reyna facepalms and reminds herself that praetor duties have to come first so she decides to be nice and listen to his issue like she does with every camper. 

“Then what issue is it?”

Jason thinks fast and comes up with something ridiculous. 

“Uuh, my toilet is clogged. I need help.”

Reyna’s annoyance intensified by his minimal issue. 

“You can ask the maintenance staff for that not me. God, Grace next time don’t interrupt me.”

“What do you expect me to do? Do nothing?”

“Yes, Jason. Let me do what I want.”

“I can’t do that! In my heart, you’re still my girlfriend!”

“Well it hasn’t been like that in a long time! You have a different girlfriend called Piper!”

“We’ve broken up for a while now! She’s not my girlfriend you are!”

Reyna’s face is red with anger and hurt.

“Not anymore, Jason! It hasn’t been that way in a while!! May I remind you who broke my heart into pieces?!”

“And, I’m sorry for that, Reyna. I don’t know how many more times do you need to hear me say that.”

Reyna at this point had tears in her eyes. 

“As many times as I want, Jason! For as many times as I want till my heart heals!! You don’t even understand how hard it has been for me. How many times I had to hold the tears in because I was feeling hurt!! How many times I felt like I was not enough because you forgot everything about me!! About us!”

Jason felt so bad about Reyna feeling this way, he wanted to take all of her pain away. So he did the only thing he thought would express all of his feelings for her. He grabbed onto her face and kissed her. 

Reyna was shocked, Jason was kissing her and here she was frozen like a statue. She tried resisting but she eventually gave in, she always did whenever it came to Jason, he was her weakness. Jason felt her kiss back just as passionately and pulled her closer to him. “I missed this, I missed her, I missed all of her” he thought. Jason held onto her tightly and Reyna wrapped her legs around him, in the way she always used to. Jason automatically lifts her up without breaking their kiss and he leads them both to his bed. 

Reyna felt Jason lay her down on his bed. He was still on top of her kissing her and she felt something poking her from below. Reyna felt a rush of desire overcome her, she tugged on his shirt and soon all of their clothes came off. She knew she shouldn’t have done it but she missed him and it has been a while. Nobody made her feel the same way Jason ever did. That night they expressed what they were feeling through their bodies and soon after sleep overcame the two of them. Jason wraps his arms protectively around her while Reyna snuggled closer to him, inhaling his familiar scent.


	10. Mistake

Reyna POV

Reyna wakes up tangled in Jason’s familiar warmth after the night they spent together. She blinks twice in disbelief and memories from last night come rushing back to her. She felt the panic settle in the pits of her stomach but it came along with the butterfiles that she always felt whenever she was around Jason Grace. “Oh god, this was a mistake. Last night wasn’t supposed to happen, we got carried away by our feelings for each other in the past” she thought. Reyna gingerly removes herself from Jason’s arms, she struggled at first but she eventually found a way out of his tight embrace. She fixes herself a bit and quietly tiptoes out of his room. When she was out the door, her first instinct was to run and stay away from Jason. In her haste to get away from the situation, she ran straight into two bodies that were about to knock on Jason’s door. Reyna fell flat on her podex and looked up to find Annabeth and Gwen. The two have gotten closer over the past few months because of Percy and Annabeth’s frequent visits to Camp Jupiter and of course hanging out with Reyna meant hanging out with Gwen, Dakota, and Bobby. Gwen and Annabeth looked surprised at the fact that Reyna looked disheveled while leaving Jason’s villa. Reyna quickly grabbed onto the two of them before they got to speak and she dragged them both inside her own villa. She breathes heavily and stares at her two friends. Gwen and Annabeth looked at Reyna with amused faces. Annabeth makes the first move and questions Reyna. 

“Not to be rude, Rey, but what the hell happened to you? You look like a storm hit you.”

Reyna bites her lip and thinks of a way to get through her friends questioning glances. 

“I.. I just... we had a sleepover.. ugh”

Gwen grins at Reyna because she put two and two together when they saw her hurrying away from Jason’s villa. 

“Mhmm that sleepover must’ve been wild, Rey Rey. Your hair looks like a bird’s nest, your makeup is smudged everywhere, your clothes are all wrinkly and oh my god! Is that a hickey?”

“I... I.. I got nothing to say.”

The gears in Annabeth’s head turn and she manages to put two in two together as well before she facepalms. 

“Oh my gods, Rey. Did you and Jason? You know?”

Annabeth grills a flustered Reyna while Gwen just waits for her to tell them what they all already knew. Reyna sighs and thinks that there’s no use lying to her friends since she’s been caught red handed. 

“Fine. We did but it was a mistake. Gods, I don’t know what to do now.”

“But I thought you were on a date with my brother yesterday, Rey.”

Gwen looks at Annabeth and confirms that with a nod.

“Oh she did, Annabeth, but you know how Jay Jay is with his jealousy. I had a feeling he was gonna crash Reyna’s date. He has always been like that with Reyna, whenever a guy tried anything with her, he would already be next to her trying to intimidate whoever it was.”

Reyna blushes and shakes her head.

“That is not true. He was just doing that because he was looking out for me as a friend.”

Annabeth gives Reyna a look of disbelief.

“I doubt that just friends would do that kind of thing, Rey. So what are you gonna do now?”

Gwen claps excitedly.

“Does this mean you guys are finally back together?”

Reyna furiously shakes her head at them.

“No, we’re not together. I’m sure he just made a mistake last night. I don’t know what to do but I’m sure that I won’t be able to face him for a few days.”

“Oh gods, are you gonna avoid Jason now? That’s kind of impossible, all the more since you two are practically neighbors.”

Reyna cooks up a plan and rolls her eyes at what Annabeth said.

“Oh, don’t be a smart ass, Annie. That is where you two come in. Who wants to have a sleepover here for a few days?”

Gwen excitedly raises her hand while saying “me, me, me” while Annabeth sheepishly looks at Reyna.

“I don’t know if Percy is gonna like this, Rey.”

“Oh please, Annie, a few days from that idiot would do you well. I’ll promise to give him blue chocolate chip cookies if he lets you sleepover for a few days.”

Annabeth smiles at that.

“Ha ha fine. I think I needed some girl time as well. Percy can never say no to blue cookies.”

Gwen puts her arms around the two girls and excitedly says.

“Yay! Yay! Sleepover.”

“You guys can’t leave me right now, okay? I can’t be alone with Jason and I don’t think its a good idea to be around him that much right now.”

Annabeth and Gwen glances at a clearly nervous Reyna.

“We got your back, Rey Rey. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah. Operation hide Reyna from Jason is in full effect.”

“Thank you guys. You don’t know how relieved I am about that. I just don’t have the heart to speak to Jason right now.”

Gwen casually takes a seat on the couch and says.

“So what happened, Rey Rey, give us the juicy details of how it all went south?”

Reyna heaves another sigh before looking at her friends. 

“Well, after the date they crashed, we all went home to camp together. Then when Malcolm was bidding me goodbye, he tried to kiss me and that was exactly when Jason decided to interrupt us with an “issue” but it turns out that the issue was completely stupid to begin with. So of course I got all frustrated then he got frustrated then I said a few things that I knew would hurt him then he was kissing me and then one thing led to another, and now... now I don’t know what to do...I woke up and ran away as fast as I could.”

Gwen cleared her throat and spoke.

“Was Jason awake when you ran away?”

Annabeth shrugged as if to say that the answer to her question was obvious. 

“Of course he wasn’t, Gwen, I don’t think Jason would have let Reyna run away if he was.”

Reyna looked at the two of them uncomfortably.

“I, I don’t think I can face him right now. My feelings are all over the place and his are as well because he knows about our past relationship now. Uuugh! I’m convinced the gods hate me. I was getting better coping with it. Why did they have to return Jason’s memories?”

Annabeth steps in and looks meaningfully at Reyna. 

“Maybe because you guys belong together, Rey. It’s never too late to fix things.”

Gwen decides that now was the right time to step in as well.

“Annabeth’s right, Rey Rey. Maybe the gods finally realized that they made a mistake separating you guys. I always felt like you guys would always find your way back to one another.” 

Reyna looks teary eyed and sighs at the two of them.

“I wish it were that easy but I’m afraid. What if he has to get kidnapped again? What if he needs to go on a quest again? What if he forgets me again? I... I can’t give him my heart again only for him to tear it into pieces. I don’t know if I could take all the hurt for the second time.”

Annabeth and Gwen hug Reyna then they rub comforting circles on her back. Gwen flicks Reyna on the forehead. 

“Stop your tears, Rey Rey. I understand that he hurt you but he’s sorry and I can see that he’s trying his best for you. I might be your friend but I’m also Jason’s friend, I love you both and I wouldn’t have suggested for you guys to get back together if I knew it was going to be a disaster.”

Annabeth looks at Reyna with a straight face.

“I agree with Gwen, Rey. We both know you and Jason pretty well now. It wouldn’t hurt to give him another chance. I think he really does love you. I hope you reconsider it but I’ll always support you with whatever you decide to do. Then there’s also Malcolm who can’t stop talking my ear off about you.”

Reyna breathes a sigh of relief.

“Just give me time. I.. I’ll think about it. I just can’t deal with him right now. Being around Jason always clouds my judgement.”

Then the three of them spend the day together. They were watching the Titanic in the afternoon when they heard a three loud knocks at the door. It made Reyna visibly nervous because she knew exactly who knocked in that calculated manner so Gwen and Annabeth decided to take the reigns on this one. They motioned for her to go inside her room when they answered the door. Gwen and Annabeth moved to open the door and they found a troubled looking Jason Grace.

———————————————————-

Jason POV

Jason was having the best dream ever about him and Reyna reconciling when he was woken up by a call. He groggily reached for his phone and answered it without looking at the caller ID. 

“Jason? Where the hell have you been?”

“Perce? What’s up? Isn’t it a bit too early for your nagging?”

“What do you mean Jason? It’s almost 3 in the afternoon. You missed breakfast and lunch.”

“What?! I did. Shit.”

“I thought we were gonna spar today. What did you end up doing last night? Whatever it was, stop it. You’re never late.”

The words “last night” ended up ringing in Jason’s head. He remembered last night, he and Reyna had an intimate moment. He looked around his room. Where the hell was Reyna? She just nailed and bailed on him. His heart stung and he really wanted to finally settle things with her. The thought of her being with other guys, it just didn’t sit well with him. There was no way in Tartarus that he would give up on Reyna easily, not without a fight. He knew he hurt her a lot before but he would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her. He needed to find her and he needed her to undersand where he stood in all of this. Jason is brought back out of his reverie by Percy’s screeching on the other end of the line. 

“Jasoooooon!! Hellloooo!”

“Ugh. Tomorrow Perce, we’ll spar tomorrow okay? I.. I got to go. I have something important to do.”

Jason quickly puts his clothes on and runs to Reyna’s villa. He hears the television running inside and decides to make three loud knocks. The door opens and he finds himself face to face with Annabeth and Gwen both looking sheepishly at him.

“Jason? Uhm, hi.”

“Hi Jace.”

Jason looked nervously at the two and he also tried catching a glimpse of a specific someone that he was looking for. 

“Hi guys. Uhm, where’s Reyna? Uh, what are you doing here?”

Gwen and Annabeth looked at each other having a silent conversation before they both spoke.

“Uhm, she’s not around right now.”

“Yeah, she must be doing rounds around the camp.”

Although unconvinced Jason decided to go along with it. 

“Uuuh, okay. Well if you see her tell her that I need to talk to her.”

Gwen smiles up at him while Annabeth looks at bit guilty.

“Will do, Jay Jay. Bye.”

“Uh, yeah I will. No problem, Jace.”

The both of them hurriedly shut the front door on his face. Jason knew that they were lying but he relented because Reyna probably needed time to think. As much as he wanted to see her, he couldn’t just impose his feelings on her when she needed time so he decided to let it go for now.


End file.
